#Newspaper
VPN Downloads Surge in Response to Hong Kong Security Law
//Hong Kong saw a spike in downloads of software designed to mask internet usage
Thursday after Beijing signaled plans to usher in a new national security law that
could tighten its grip on the city.
//One popular provider, NordVPN, said it received 120 times more downloads
Thursday compared with the day before.
//Unlike in mainland China, Hong Kong maintains an open internet and relatively loose constraints on online speech because of the city’s semi-autonomous status. VPNs and U.S.-based messaging apps like Twitter and WhatsApp, which are banned on the mainland, are legal in Hong Kong.
//The law could lead to increased surveillance and censorship in Hong Kong, privacy advocates said.
//“The Chinese government is taking advantage of the pandemic and stepping up its attempts to enforce control over the region,” said Ray Walsh, of digital privacy
advocacy group Proprivacy.com. “For Hong Kong citizens, who fear how this could impact their ability to work and communicate with the outside world online, this has led to an almost instant spike in searches for VPNs.”
//NordVPN’s downloads began to surge around 6 p.m. in Hong Kong, prompting
efforts by the company to add new servers there and in Taiwan
//The protests simmered after the coronavirus emerged at the end of 2019 and swept across the globe, prompting protesters to stay home. Talk of restarting demonstrations began circulating recently on Telegram, another popular messaging app that’s blocked in mainland China.
Full Article: Bloomberg, (22-May)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-22/vpn-downloads-surge-in-response-to-hong-kong-security-law
Further reading:
Many Facebook pages unable to post after the news is released;Facebook’s director says the problem was not related to National Security Law.
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/21075
Suspicion raised on HK Government's Potential Blockage of VPN in Hong Kong?
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/6194
#NationalSecurityLaw #freedom #VPN #Surveillance #Censorship
VPN Downloads Surge in Response to Hong Kong Security Law
//Hong Kong saw a spike in downloads of software designed to mask internet usage
Thursday after Beijing signaled plans to usher in a new national security law that
could tighten its grip on the city.
//One popular provider, NordVPN, said it received 120 times more downloads
Thursday compared with the day before.
//Unlike in mainland China, Hong Kong maintains an open internet and relatively loose constraints on online speech because of the city’s semi-autonomous status. VPNs and U.S.-based messaging apps like Twitter and WhatsApp, which are banned on the mainland, are legal in Hong Kong.
//The law could lead to increased surveillance and censorship in Hong Kong, privacy advocates said.
//“The Chinese government is taking advantage of the pandemic and stepping up its attempts to enforce control over the region,” said Ray Walsh, of digital privacy
advocacy group Proprivacy.com. “For Hong Kong citizens, who fear how this could impact their ability to work and communicate with the outside world online, this has led to an almost instant spike in searches for VPNs.”
//NordVPN’s downloads began to surge around 6 p.m. in Hong Kong, prompting
efforts by the company to add new servers there and in Taiwan
//The protests simmered after the coronavirus emerged at the end of 2019 and swept across the globe, prompting protesters to stay home. Talk of restarting demonstrations began circulating recently on Telegram, another popular messaging app that’s blocked in mainland China.
Full Article: Bloomberg, (22-May)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-22/vpn-downloads-surge-in-response-to-hong-kong-security-law
Further reading:
Many Facebook pages unable to post after the news is released;Facebook’s director says the problem was not related to National Security Law.
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/21075
Suspicion raised on HK Government's Potential Blockage of VPN in Hong Kong?
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/6194
#NationalSecurityLaw #freedom #VPN #Surveillance #Censorship
Bloomberg
VPN Downloads Surge in Response to Hong Kong Security Law
Hong Kong saw a spike in downloads of software designed to mask internet usage Thursday after Beijing signaled plans to usher in a new national security law that could tighten its grip on the city.
China Signal Users Report Difficulty Accessing Messaging App
Signal have been blocked in China. On Mar 15, Signal users reported difficulties using the app in China without the help of a virtual private network, or VPN, which allows users to mask their location and access banned foreign communication services like Gmail and Twitter.
Signal has been a popular tool among political dissidents and journalists seeking a communication method that minimizes the risk of messages being intercepted by government censors and bad actors. In particular, the app has gained traction among China’s mainly Muslim Uyghur diaspora.
Signal recently surged in popularity when some WhatsApp users balked at changes in its privacy policies. Tesla Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk also gave Signal a boost when he recommended it in a tweet.
Source: Bloomberg #Mar16
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-16/signal-users-in-china-report-difficulty-accessing-messaging-app
#Signal #ChinaBanSocialMedia #VPN
Signal have been blocked in China. On Mar 15, Signal users reported difficulties using the app in China without the help of a virtual private network, or VPN, which allows users to mask their location and access banned foreign communication services like Gmail and Twitter.
Signal has been a popular tool among political dissidents and journalists seeking a communication method that minimizes the risk of messages being intercepted by government censors and bad actors. In particular, the app has gained traction among China’s mainly Muslim Uyghur diaspora.
Signal recently surged in popularity when some WhatsApp users balked at changes in its privacy policies. Tesla Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk also gave Signal a boost when he recommended it in a tweet.
Source: Bloomberg #Mar16
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-16/signal-users-in-china-report-difficulty-accessing-messaging-app
#Signal #ChinaBanSocialMedia #VPN
Chinese VPN app Quickfox caught exposing 1 million users’ data
The Quickfox VPN is mainly used by Chinese citizens living abroad who need to access Chinese websites as most of these sites are geo-restricted.
Wizcase’s team of ethical researchers, led by Ata Hakcil, discovered a “critical leak” that the researchers found to be exposing personally identifiable information of at least one million users of a Chinese VPN service.
The team revealed that the VPN leaking data is Quickfox, produced by Fuzhou Zixun Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Source: Hackread #Oct19
https://t.co/RyVkUvC1Rk
#Chinese #VPN #Websites #Restricted
The Quickfox VPN is mainly used by Chinese citizens living abroad who need to access Chinese websites as most of these sites are geo-restricted.
Wizcase’s team of ethical researchers, led by Ata Hakcil, discovered a “critical leak” that the researchers found to be exposing personally identifiable information of at least one million users of a Chinese VPN service.
The team revealed that the VPN leaking data is Quickfox, produced by Fuzhou Zixun Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Source: Hackread #Oct19
https://t.co/RyVkUvC1Rk
#Chinese #VPN #Websites #Restricted