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We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
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#Facebook: #ChineseHackers Attempt to Breach #Uyghurs Communication Devices for #Surveillance

Facebook reported that groups of Chinese hackers tried to set up fake accounts on Facebook in order to get in contact with Uyghurs overseas. After gaining their trust, they send their victims malicious links disguised as Uyghur news sites or online stores, in an attempt to install spyware on their phones for surveillance.

The report on the hacking activities was published on March 24, 2021 in which Facebook did not directly link the incident to the Chinese government, but said that the activity "had the hallmarks of a well-resourced and persistent operation". The hacking groups involved, known in the cybersecurity industry as Earth Empusa and Evil Eye, have also been involved in other surveillance activities in the past.

The hackers mainly target Uyghur human rights activists, journalists, and dissidents from Xinjiang. Most of them currently live in Turkey, Kazakhstan, the United States, Syria, Australia and Canada.

Source: Stand News #Mar25

https://www.thestandnews.com/international/facebook-中國駭客試圖入侵維吾爾族通訊工具進行監視/

#Uyghurs #Cybersecurity #ChineseHackers #MassSurveillance #BigData
#MassSurveillance #BigData
Hong Kong Government Installs 1,200 Bluetooth Detectors on Major Roads


Source: MingPao #March25

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/29298
#MassSurveillance #BigData
Hong Kong Government Installs 1,200 Bluetooth Detectors on Major Roads

The Transport Department in Hong Kong has completed the installation of 1,200 sets of traffic detectors on major roads at the end of 2020, despite public concerns about the privacy of the "smart lampposts".

The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (#OGCIO) in Hong Kong did remove the cameras and Bluetooth traffic detectors from the lampposts in May 2020. However, other departments continued to install Bluetooth detectors on other lampposts.

These detectors include video detectors, Bluetooth detectors and automatic license plate recognition detectors. The Bluetooth detectors, which can detect drivers and passengers' Bluetooth devices such as personal phones, headphones and smartwatches.

The IT industry stated that the Department did not consult the industry before installation, nor find the best technical solution to protect citizen’s privacy.

The Transport Department claimed that it has done a privacy risk assessment, and the collected Bluetooth data will be deleted.

Leo To, Executive Committee of the HK Wireless Technology Industry Association believes that there are many alternative solutions to detect vehicle speed that doesn’t require a collection of personal device data, such as the most traditional radar, the existing lens, the latest optical radar.

He said that he cannot understand why the Department chose to use a technology that “can possibly turn surveillance into monitoring".

In Mid-2019, the Hong Kong Government launched 50 smart lampposts in the Kwun Tong/Kai Tak Development Area which raised privacy concerns and were partially destroyed during the anti-extradition movement.

The government subsequently set up a technical advisory committee to review the plan, the committee's report recommended the use of thermal detectors, optical radar (#LiDAR) instead of cameras, and "more privacy-friendly" technology instead of Bluetooth detectors to detect vehicle speed and identify different types of vehicles. If the results are satisfactory, it is expected to be installed in the existing smart lampposts for field testing in the middle of this year.

Francis Fong Po-Kiu, A member of the Multi-functional Smart Lampposts Technical Advisory Ad Hoc Committee, requests the Department to provide relevant information to the public, including the exact location of all detectors, the information collected, the technology used, the privacy report results, and whether it will be used for law enforcement purposes.

Source: MingPao #March25

#Privacy #SmartLamppost #BigBrother

http://news.mingpao.com/pns2103251616610400825

http://news.mingpao.com/pns2103251616610404390
#MassSurveillance #Privacy
Media in the Netherlands: #Huawei Might Have Sent Users' Data to China

According to the media outlet de Volkskrant in the Netherlands, the local telecommunication company Telfort was aware sincec 2011 that the Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei could access the data of over millions of users without a trace.

This is revealed in an internal report of KPN, the parent company of Telport; however, the company has never informed relevant department such as the Data Protection Authority (#DPA) and their customers.

Scholars pointed out the possibilty of having the data channeled to China, although Huawei denied that data has been shared.

Source: Stand News #Mar31

https://www.thestandnews.com/international/%E5%A4%96%E5%AA%92-%E8%8F%AF%E7%82%BA%E6%9B%BE%E5%8F%AF%E4%B8%8D%E7%95%99%E7%97%95%E8%B7%A1%E5%AD%98%E5%8F%96%E8%8D%B7%E8%98%AD%E9%9B%BB%E8%A8%8A%E5%95%86%E9%81%8E%E7%99%BE%E8%90%AC%E7%94%A8%E6%88%B6%E8%B3%87%E6%96%99/

#Telport #KPN #Telecommunication #BigData #BigBrother
#MassSurveillance
Watching You: Face-Recognition Forcibly Installed in Housing Estates in Hong Kong

It is found that some security contractors of a Hong Kong’s housing estate have forcibly added face recognition technology to their security systems, causing great discontent among residents.

For instance, the installations in Fullview Garden in Siu Sai Wan are provided by #Hikivision, a state-owned Chinese enterprise which has high-resolution cameras with up to a 99% accuracy for recognition.

Source: Unwire HK #May7
https://unwire.hk/2021/05/07/cnsordoor/fun-tech/

#MassSurveillance #BigBrother #FacialRecognition
#ChineseEnterprise
#HumanitarianCrisis #Genocide
#AmnestyInternational: #China has "created a dystopian hellscape on a staggering scale" in #Xinjiang

//“The Chinese authorities have created a dystopian hellscape on a staggering scale in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities face crimes against humanity and other serious human rights violations that threaten to erase their religious and cultural identities."

“It should shock the conscience of humanity that massive numbers of people have been subjected to brainwashing, torture and other degrading treatment in internment camps, while millions more live in fear amid a vast surveillance apparatus.”

From the moment they entered the prison-like internment camps, detainees’ lives were extraordinarily regimented. They had no privacy or autonomy, and they faced harsh punishments – sometimes collectively with their cellmates – for trivial disobedience. Internees were forbidden to speak freely to each other, and they were severely punished when they responded to prison guards or other officials in their native tongues instead of Mandarin. Every activity in the detainees’ daily routine was pre-ordained and their behaviour was constantly monitored and evaluated....

Every former detainee Amnesty International interviewed suffered torture or other ill-treatment.

This included the cumulative psychological effect of their daily dehumanization, as well as physical torture in the form of beatings, electric shocks, solitary confinement, deprivation of food, water and sleep, exposure to extreme cold, and the abusive use of restraints, including torture tools like tiger chairs. Some reported being restrained in a tiger chair for 24 hours or more...

The Chinese government has gone to extraordinary lengths to cover up its violations of international human rights law in Xinjiang. Authorities threaten, detain and mistreat anyone who speaks out...//

Read full article:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/06/china-draconian-repression-of-muslims-in-xinjiang-amounts-to-crimes-against-humanity/

Source: Amnesty International #Jun10

Image by Molly Crabapple

#Uyghurs #ConcentrationCamp #CCP #AgainstHumanity #Torture #Rape #MassSurveillance
#FailedState #PoliceState
#Facebook, #Twitter, #Google Threaten to Quit Hong Kong Over Proposed Data Laws

//Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have privately warned the Hong Kong government that they could stop offering their services in the city if authorities proceed with planned changes to data-protection laws that could make them liable for the malicious sharing of individuals’ information online.

A letter sent by an industry group that includes the internet firms said companies are concerned that the planned rules to address doxing could put their staff at risk of criminal investigations or prosecutions related to what the firms’ users post online. Doxing refers to the practice of putting people’s personal information online so they can be harassed by others.

Hong Kong’s Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau in May proposed amendments to the city’s data-protection laws that it said were needed to combat doxing, a practice that was prevalent during 2019 protests in the city. The proposals call for punishments of up to 1 million Hong Kong dollars, the equivalent of about $128,800, and up to five years’ imprisonment.

“The only way to avoid these sanctions for technology companies would be to refrain from investing and offering the services in Hong Kong,” said the previously unreported June 25 letter from the Singapore-based Asia Internet Coalition, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.//

Read more:
www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-twitter-google-warn-planned-hong-kong-tech-law-could-drive-them-out-11625483036

Source: Wall Street Journal #Jul5
Image: Stand News
https://thestandnews.page.link/URLxJrLrxBrhxtdD6

#MassSurveillance #InformationFlow #Communication #Doxing
#BigData #MassSurveillance
China’s Gene Company Shares Genetic Data Obtained Around the World with Military

Source: Stand News; #Jul8

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30523
#BigData #MassSurveillance
China’s Gene Company Shares Genetic Data Obtained Around the World with Military

A Reuters’ investigative report found that the China-based gene company #BGI group has been collecting #GeneticData from over 8 million pregnant women for sweeping research on the traits of populations via selling prenatal tests around the world.

The research was said to be developed in collaboration with the Chinese military.

These genetic data were amassed without names, but contsined infornation of nationality, height, and weight. Such prenatal tests were also available in Hong Kong.

BGI is one of the Hong Kong Government appointed institutions for COVID-19 tests in Hong Kong. In recent years, BGI has been trying to mark its reputation by selling and donating millions of COVID-19 detection tools around the world.The U.S. security services warned that it is a well-established means for the company to collect worldwide genetic data.

Reuters report pointed out that BGI’s prenatal test, No Invasive prenatal gene testing for Fetal Chromosomal Abnormalities (NIFTY) is a source of genetic data for the company. These data were collected in 52 countries around the world among 8 million pregnant women.

Source: Stand News; #Jul8

https://www.thestandnews.com/society/%E8%B7%AF%E9%80%8F%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B%E8%8F%AF%E5%A4%A7%E5%9F%BA%E5%9B%A0%E5%85%A8%E7%90%83%E6%94%B6%E9%80%BE-800-%E8%90%AC%E5%A5%B3%E6%80%A7%E6%95%B8%E6%93%9A-%E8%88%87%E8%A7%A3%E6%94%BE%E8%BB%8D%E5%85%B1%E4%BA%AB%E5%81%9A%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6
#MassSurveillance
All Government buildings Will Require LeaveHomeSafe Starting November

#LeaveHomeSafe #COVID19 #Surveillance #HomelessPeople #StreetSleepers

Source: Stand News #Oct21

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