The repressive ordeal of Australian journalists in China
While China's crackdown on foreign correspondents has been a recent point of contention around the world, the truth is it has been happening for a very long time. Two years after the fact, Matthew Carney - a veteran journalist from Australia - recounts his unnerving experience of how China's bureaucratic machine ventured to suppress his freedom of press and threaten his family.
Source: Standnews #Sep22
https://telegra.ph/Australian-correspondents-forced-to-leave-China-under-threat-from-government-officials-10-12
#MatthewCarney #China #Australia #FreedomOfPress #ABC #Surveillance #NationalSecurity #CyberSecurity #Censorship #InvestigativeJournalism #Journalism
While China's crackdown on foreign correspondents has been a recent point of contention around the world, the truth is it has been happening for a very long time. Two years after the fact, Matthew Carney - a veteran journalist from Australia - recounts his unnerving experience of how China's bureaucratic machine ventured to suppress his freedom of press and threaten his family.
Source: Standnews #Sep22
https://telegra.ph/Australian-correspondents-forced-to-leave-China-under-threat-from-government-officials-10-12
#MatthewCarney #China #Australia #FreedomOfPress #ABC #Surveillance #NationalSecurity #CyberSecurity #Censorship #InvestigativeJournalism #Journalism
Walmart-exclusive router and others sold on Amazon & eBay contain hidden backdoors to control device
CyberNews researchers have discovered that Chinese-made wifi routers have secret backdoors which allow an attacker to not only remotely control the routers, but also any devices connected to it.
Backdoors are a means for an authorized or unauthorized person to gain access to a closed system – in this case, a router – by bypassing the standard security measures and take control, which is known as root access.
These Chinese-made low-cost routers, named as Jetstream, Wavlink and Ematic, usually are sold at Walmart, Amazon, and eBay.
CyberNews has also found evidence that an attacker has attempted to add the devices to a Mirai botnet, a malware which “infects devices connected to a network, turns them into remotely controlled bots as part of a botnet, and uses them in large-scale attacks.” It’s even possible that the router can steal your passwords on your devices no matter how many times you change them.
Source: CyberNews #Nov23
https://cybernews.com/security/walmart-exclusive-routers-others-made-in-china-contain-backdoors-to-control-devices/?fbclid=IwAR3BeD54mnvJIXnpTVKOq_1WlCYZ6ZiOuxJmjawm0PebrTcf169Z_jW5wLg
#CyberSecurity #MadeInChina #Router #Amazon #eBay #Walmart
CyberNews researchers have discovered that Chinese-made wifi routers have secret backdoors which allow an attacker to not only remotely control the routers, but also any devices connected to it.
Backdoors are a means for an authorized or unauthorized person to gain access to a closed system – in this case, a router – by bypassing the standard security measures and take control, which is known as root access.
These Chinese-made low-cost routers, named as Jetstream, Wavlink and Ematic, usually are sold at Walmart, Amazon, and eBay.
CyberNews has also found evidence that an attacker has attempted to add the devices to a Mirai botnet, a malware which “infects devices connected to a network, turns them into remotely controlled bots as part of a botnet, and uses them in large-scale attacks.” It’s even possible that the router can steal your passwords on your devices no matter how many times you change them.
Source: CyberNews #Nov23
https://cybernews.com/security/walmart-exclusive-routers-others-made-in-china-contain-backdoors-to-control-devices/?fbclid=IwAR3BeD54mnvJIXnpTVKOq_1WlCYZ6ZiOuxJmjawm0PebrTcf169Z_jW5wLg
#CyberSecurity #MadeInChina #Router #Amazon #eBay #Walmart
Cybernews
Chinese routers with backdoors sold in Walmart, Amazon & eBay | Cybernews
Walmart-exclusive Jetstream routers and Wavlink routers contain hidden backdoors. The routers are actively being exploited by Mirai malware
#GreatFireWall #106Crackdown
#WashingtonPost: First came political crimes. Now, a digital crackdown descends on Hong Kong
//The digital sweep showed how Hong Kong authorities are wielding their new powers under the national security law — introduced last summer — far more widely than the city’s leader promised.
Since the Jan. 6 raids, authorities have blocked at least one website, according to the site’s owner and local media reports, raising concerns that Hong Kong is headed for broader digital surveillance and censorship akin to that in mainland China.
...Shortly after the arrests and device seizures, colleagues and associates of those detained started noticing strange activity on their social media and email accounts.
Ray Chan, a former pro-democracy lawmaker arrested at his home, said he kept receiving confirmation codessent by Telegram to a replacement phone after police confiscated his devices. The codes are used to verify the authenticity of a user trying to log into an account.
Separately, Lam Cheuk-ting and Helena Wong, two former Democratic Party lawmakers, said their staffs received notifications from Google that state-sponsored hackers were trying to breach their work accounts, which are hosted on a Gmail server. The Google alerts arrived just after their arrests, once their devices were in the hands of police.
“It is a redo of the Great Firewall,” said Lokman Tsui, an assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who specializes in privacy and online communications. “They are testing the waters for now, so the results are uneven — but it is a question of when and how, not if.”
Glacier Kwong, founder of Keyboard Frontline, which tracks digital rights in Hong Kong, said the government clearly intends to crack down on one of the last free spaces for dissent.
“The government has actually set a precedent,” Kwong said. “As long as it is not to the liking of the regime, a website can be blocked without any reason under the national security law, which is a clear blow to the freedom of the Internet, freedom of information and freedom of speech.”//
Read the full article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/hong-kong-national-security-law-internet/2021/01/12/01738064-53b6-11eb-acc5-92d2819a1ccb_story.html
Source: Washington Post #Jan12
#CyberSecurity #PoliceState #HKChronicles #Internet
#WashingtonPost: First came political crimes. Now, a digital crackdown descends on Hong Kong
//The digital sweep showed how Hong Kong authorities are wielding their new powers under the national security law — introduced last summer — far more widely than the city’s leader promised.
Since the Jan. 6 raids, authorities have blocked at least one website, according to the site’s owner and local media reports, raising concerns that Hong Kong is headed for broader digital surveillance and censorship akin to that in mainland China.
...Shortly after the arrests and device seizures, colleagues and associates of those detained started noticing strange activity on their social media and email accounts.
Ray Chan, a former pro-democracy lawmaker arrested at his home, said he kept receiving confirmation codessent by Telegram to a replacement phone after police confiscated his devices. The codes are used to verify the authenticity of a user trying to log into an account.
Separately, Lam Cheuk-ting and Helena Wong, two former Democratic Party lawmakers, said their staffs received notifications from Google that state-sponsored hackers were trying to breach their work accounts, which are hosted on a Gmail server. The Google alerts arrived just after their arrests, once their devices were in the hands of police.
“It is a redo of the Great Firewall,” said Lokman Tsui, an assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who specializes in privacy and online communications. “They are testing the waters for now, so the results are uneven — but it is a question of when and how, not if.”
Glacier Kwong, founder of Keyboard Frontline, which tracks digital rights in Hong Kong, said the government clearly intends to crack down on one of the last free spaces for dissent.
“The government has actually set a precedent,” Kwong said. “As long as it is not to the liking of the regime, a website can be blocked without any reason under the national security law, which is a clear blow to the freedom of the Internet, freedom of information and freedom of speech.”//
Read the full article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/hong-kong-national-security-law-internet/2021/01/12/01738064-53b6-11eb-acc5-92d2819a1ccb_story.html
Source: Washington Post #Jan12
#CyberSecurity #PoliceState #HKChronicles #Internet
#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
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
#CyberSecurity #CCP
#FBI Raids Chinese Point-of-Sale Giant #PAX Technology
On October 26, 2021, FBI and #MI5 in the US raided the Florida offices of PAX Technology, a Chinese provider of point-of-sale devices used by millions of businesses and retailers globally. There are reports saying that PAX’s systems may have been involved in cyberattacks on U.S. and E.U. organizations.
The sources came from the payment processor, revealing that "the PAX terminals were being used both as a malware “dropper” — a repository for malicious files — and as “command-and-control” locations for staging attacks and collecting information.”
It is pointed out that “two major financial providers — one in the United States and one in the United Kingdom — had already begun pulling PAX terminals from their payment infrastructure.”
Federal investigations are under way.
Read full article:
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/10/fbi-raids-chinese-point-of-sale-giant-pax-technology/
Source: Krebs on Security; #Oct26
#FBI Raids Chinese Point-of-Sale Giant #PAX Technology
On October 26, 2021, FBI and #MI5 in the US raided the Florida offices of PAX Technology, a Chinese provider of point-of-sale devices used by millions of businesses and retailers globally. There are reports saying that PAX’s systems may have been involved in cyberattacks on U.S. and E.U. organizations.
The sources came from the payment processor, revealing that "the PAX terminals were being used both as a malware “dropper” — a repository for malicious files — and as “command-and-control” locations for staging attacks and collecting information.”
It is pointed out that “two major financial providers — one in the United States and one in the United Kingdom — had already begun pulling PAX terminals from their payment infrastructure.”
Federal investigations are under way.
Read full article:
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/10/fbi-raids-chinese-point-of-sale-giant-pax-technology/
Source: Krebs on Security; #Oct26
#Cybersecurity #FakeNews
Facebook takes down China-based network spreading false COVID-19 claims
Image: Stand News
Source: NPR #Dec1
Read more
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Facebook takes down China-based network spreading false COVID-19 claims
Image: Stand News
Source: NPR #Dec1
Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
#Cybersecurity #FakeNews
Facebook takes down China-based network spreading false COVID-19 claims
//The parent company of #Facebook and #Instagram said on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, it has taken down more than 600 accounts, pages and groups connected to a Chinese influence operation spreading #COVID19 #disinformation, including an account purporting to be a fictitious Swiss biologist.
The China-based network was one of six #Meta, formerly know as Facebook, removed in November for abusing its platforms, a reminder that bad actors around the world are using social media to promote false information and harass opponents.
The China-based operation came to light after the company was alerted to an account purporting to be a Swiss biologist named Wilson Edwards (no such person exists). The account posted claims on Facebook and Twitter in July that the U.S. was pressuring World Health Organization scientists to blame China for the COVID-19 virus. The posts alleging U.S. intimidation soon appeared in Chinese state media stories.//
Image: Stand News
Source: NPR #Dec1
https://www.npr.org/2021/12/01/1060645940/facebook-takes-down-china-based-fake-covid-claims
#FakeIdentity #MadeInChina #CCPControls #CCP #Regime
Facebook takes down China-based network spreading false COVID-19 claims
//The parent company of #Facebook and #Instagram said on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, it has taken down more than 600 accounts, pages and groups connected to a Chinese influence operation spreading #COVID19 #disinformation, including an account purporting to be a fictitious Swiss biologist.
The China-based network was one of six #Meta, formerly know as Facebook, removed in November for abusing its platforms, a reminder that bad actors around the world are using social media to promote false information and harass opponents.
The China-based operation came to light after the company was alerted to an account purporting to be a Swiss biologist named Wilson Edwards (no such person exists). The account posted claims on Facebook and Twitter in July that the U.S. was pressuring World Health Organization scientists to blame China for the COVID-19 virus. The posts alleging U.S. intimidation soon appeared in Chinese state media stories.//
Image: Stand News
Source: NPR #Dec1
https://www.npr.org/2021/12/01/1060645940/facebook-takes-down-china-based-fake-covid-claims
#FakeIdentity #MadeInChina #CCPControls #CCP #Regime
#MadeinChina #Surveillance
Lithuania says throw away Chinese phones due to #censorship concerns
[Editor's note: The National Communications Commision of #Taiwan has confirmed the same result of Chinese censorship in China-made mobile phones in the findings released on January 6, 2022. Taiwan conducted a similar investigation after Lithuania published their report on September 21, 2021 as below]
#Lithuania's #DefenseMinistry recommended that consumers avoid buying Chinese mobile phones and advised people to throw away the ones they have now after a government report found the devices had built-in censorship capabilities.
Flagship phones sold in Europe by China's smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp (1810.HK)have a built-in ability to detect and censor terms such as "Free Tibet", "Long live Taiwan independence" or "democracy movement", Lithuania's state-run cybersecurity body said on Tuesday.
The capability in Xiaomi's Mi 10T 5G phone software had been turned off for the "European Union region", but can be turned on remotely at any time, the Defence Ministry's National Cyber Security Centre said in the report.
"Our recommendation is to not buy new Chinese phones, and to get rid of those already purchased as fast as reasonably possible," Defence Deputy Minister Margiris Abukevicius told reporters in introducing the report.
Lithuania says throw away Chinese phones due to censorship concerns.
Read the full article:
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/lithuania-says-throw-away-chinese-phones-due-censorship-concerns-2021-09-21/
#Cybersecurity #Censorship #Xiaomi
Source: Reuters #Sept21;
National Communications Commision of Taiwan #Jan6
The Report of National Communications Commision (#NCC) of Taiwan in Chinese:
https://www.ncc.gov.tw/chinese/news_detail.aspx
Lithuania says throw away Chinese phones due to #censorship concerns
[Editor's note: The National Communications Commision of #Taiwan has confirmed the same result of Chinese censorship in China-made mobile phones in the findings released on January 6, 2022. Taiwan conducted a similar investigation after Lithuania published their report on September 21, 2021 as below]
#Lithuania's #DefenseMinistry recommended that consumers avoid buying Chinese mobile phones and advised people to throw away the ones they have now after a government report found the devices had built-in censorship capabilities.
Flagship phones sold in Europe by China's smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp (1810.HK)have a built-in ability to detect and censor terms such as "Free Tibet", "Long live Taiwan independence" or "democracy movement", Lithuania's state-run cybersecurity body said on Tuesday.
The capability in Xiaomi's Mi 10T 5G phone software had been turned off for the "European Union region", but can be turned on remotely at any time, the Defence Ministry's National Cyber Security Centre said in the report.
"Our recommendation is to not buy new Chinese phones, and to get rid of those already purchased as fast as reasonably possible," Defence Deputy Minister Margiris Abukevicius told reporters in introducing the report.
Lithuania says throw away Chinese phones due to censorship concerns.
Read the full article:
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/lithuania-says-throw-away-chinese-phones-due-censorship-concerns-2021-09-21/
#Cybersecurity #Censorship #Xiaomi
Source: Reuters #Sept21;
National Communications Commision of Taiwan #Jan6
The Report of National Communications Commision (#NCC) of Taiwan in Chinese:
https://www.ncc.gov.tw/chinese/news_detail.aspx
Reuters
Lithuania says throw away Chinese phones due to censorship concerns
Lithuania's Defense Ministry recommended that consumers avoid buying Chinese mobile phones and advised people to throw away the ones they have now after a government report found the devices had built-in censorship capabilities.
#WinterOlympics #MassSurveillance
Official #Beijing 2022 Olympics #MobileApp Is Marred by Security Flaws, Researchers Say
//In a report released Tuesday, Citizen Lab also said the app didn’t properly encrypt sensitive metadata transmitted through the app’s messaging function, which meant any eavesdropper operating a Wi-Fi hot spot could discover who users are communicating with and when.
The Beijing 2022 handbook for athletes and officials says My 2022 is intended to ensure the safety of all Games participants and “is in accordance with international standards and Chinese law.”//
Read the full article:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/official-beijing-2022-olympics-mobile-app-is-marred-by-security-flaws-researchers-say-11642511957
Source: WSJ #Jan19
#BigData #Regime #Cybersecurity #ChineseInternet #PoliceState #ChineseLaw
Official #Beijing 2022 Olympics #MobileApp Is Marred by Security Flaws, Researchers Say
//In a report released Tuesday, Citizen Lab also said the app didn’t properly encrypt sensitive metadata transmitted through the app’s messaging function, which meant any eavesdropper operating a Wi-Fi hot spot could discover who users are communicating with and when.
The Beijing 2022 handbook for athletes and officials says My 2022 is intended to ensure the safety of all Games participants and “is in accordance with international standards and Chinese law.”//
Read the full article:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/official-beijing-2022-olympics-mobile-app-is-marred-by-security-flaws-researchers-say-11642511957
Source: WSJ #Jan19
#BigData #Regime #Cybersecurity #ChineseInternet #PoliceState #ChineseLaw
At least 13 phone firms hit by suspected Chinese hackers since 2019, say experts
At least 13 phone companies around the world have been compromised since 2019 by sophisticated hackers who are believed to come from China, a cybersecurity expert group has said.
The roaming hackers – known as LightBasin – were able to “search and find” individual mobile phones and “target accordingly”, according to CrowdStrike, a group regularly cited by western intelligence.
Hackers were also able to obtain personal subscriber information held by phone companies and metadata showing who made and received calls.
Source: The Guardian #Oct19
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/19/phone-firms-hit-by-suspected-chinese-hackers-lightbasin-china?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
#China #Hacker #Cybersecurity
At least 13 phone companies around the world have been compromised since 2019 by sophisticated hackers who are believed to come from China, a cybersecurity expert group has said.
The roaming hackers – known as LightBasin – were able to “search and find” individual mobile phones and “target accordingly”, according to CrowdStrike, a group regularly cited by western intelligence.
Hackers were also able to obtain personal subscriber information held by phone companies and metadata showing who made and received calls.
Source: The Guardian #Oct19
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/19/phone-firms-hit-by-suspected-chinese-hackers-lightbasin-china?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
#China #Hacker #Cybersecurity
A #US Federal Communications commissioner pushes #Apple and #Google to remove #TikTok from their app stores
In a letter to the companies released on Tuesday, Jine 29, 2022, #BrendanCarr, a Republican commissioner, said he believed that “TikTok’s pattern of conduct and misrepresentations regarding the unfettered access that persons in Beijing have to sensitive U.S. user data” violated Apple’s and Google’s standards and that TikTok should be taken out of the app stores...
The Biden administration has considered other measures to keep American data away from China but has not publicly pushed TikTok to cut ties with its Chinese owner.
TikTok has maintained that it is taking steps to keep employees in China from gaining access to its data. Shortly before a recent news report revealed it was struggling to do so, it said it was routing all data from its U.S. users through servers controlled by Oracle.//
Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/technology/apple-google-tiktok.html
Source: New York Times #Jun29
#CyberSecurity #DataSecurity #App #MadeinChina
In a letter to the companies released on Tuesday, Jine 29, 2022, #BrendanCarr, a Republican commissioner, said he believed that “TikTok’s pattern of conduct and misrepresentations regarding the unfettered access that persons in Beijing have to sensitive U.S. user data” violated Apple’s and Google’s standards and that TikTok should be taken out of the app stores...
The Biden administration has considered other measures to keep American data away from China but has not publicly pushed TikTok to cut ties with its Chinese owner.
TikTok has maintained that it is taking steps to keep employees in China from gaining access to its data. Shortly before a recent news report revealed it was struggling to do so, it said it was routing all data from its U.S. users through servers controlled by Oracle.//
Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/technology/apple-google-tiktok.html
Source: New York Times #Jun29
#CyberSecurity #DataSecurity #App #MadeinChina
NY Times
An F.C.C. commissioner pushes Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores.
Brendan Carr, a Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission, said he was concerned that the Chinese-owned app could provide Beijing with access to the data of Americans.