More Than a Dozen VPN Apps Have Undisclosed Ties To China (thehill.com)
- Reference: 0178022381
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/06/12/1731258/more-than-a-dozen-vpn-apps-have-undisclosed-ties-to-china
- Source link: https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5346694-chinese-private-browsing-apps-risk-exposure/
> Thirteen virtual private network (VPN) apps on Apple's App Store and 11 apps on Google's Play Store have ties to Chinese companies, the tech watchdog group said [2]in the report released Thursday.
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> Chinese law requires Chinese companies to share data with the government upon request, creating privacy and security risks for American users. Several of the apps, including two on both app stores and two others on Google Play Store, have ties to Chinese cybersecurity firm Qihoo 360, which has been sanctioned by the U.S. government, according to the report. The Tech Transparency Project previously identified more than 20 VPN apps on Appleâ(TM)s App Store with Chinese ties in an April report. The iPhone maker has since removed three apps linked to Qihoo 360.
[1] https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5346694-chinese-private-browsing-apps-risk-exposure/
[2] https://www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/spot-check-apple-and-google-still-have-a-chinese-vpn-problem
Ironic (Score:4, Insightful)
People using a VPN to secure their communications only for bad actors to provide discount VPN's that spy on all their communications
Re: (Score:2)
Good point. However, there are other reasons to use a VPN. For example, changing your apparent geographical location in order to access otherwise unavailable goods and services, like TV shows or cheaper airline fares.
Re:Ironic (Score:4, Insightful)
You get to choose who spies.
- Your ISP and your government?
- Or the VPN company of your choice and the government where it is located?
You need to know your threat model yourself. When it comes to file sharing, for example, you're probably not worried about the Chinese government or some VPN company who tries to at least keep the facade of not sharing data.
Re: (Score:2)
If you choose the cheapest "discount VPN" rather than one with a good reputation maybe that's where the problem lies.
What is your use case? (Score:5, Interesting)
If you are chinese and want a vpn to bypass chinese censorship then sure one linked to the chinese government is a bad choice...
But if you're an american who wants a VPN to download pirate torrents then a chinese one is actually a good option.
Re: What is your use case? (Score:1)
Not really.
Re:That's better than the US government. (Score:5, Interesting)
Don't know why this was moderated down, but it's the truth. For most every western nation, what would be in your personal best interest. To use an American VPN with ties to the NSA, or use a VPN with ties to a country that wouldn't share data with the NSA on a bet.
Nothing I do holds any interest to the Chinese. I will likely never visit there. Never go anywhere in their direct sphere of influence. Now tell me how the Chinese having my browsing information is anything but better than the Americans having it?
This is actually a reasonable solution to data privacy in today's world. In China, get a Tor bridge to an American VPN. In the USA and the wesrtern world, use a Chinese-affiliated VPN. I think at this point we can assume SOMEONE has their hooks in it. I'd rather it be from the side who has no capability to harm me.
In Communist-Capitalist China... (Score:2)
In Communist-Capitalist China VPNs tunnel you .
What are "ties" ? (Score:1)
What does it mean to have "ties" ?
What does "linked" mean?
If I have been to China a few times, do I have "ties" to China? Can I be "linked" to China?
Re: (Score:2)
It means that the article's author has no evidence, but strong convictions about who's to be considered the evil enemy. Thousands of articles whispering unproven innuendos populate the media, and this article is no exception.
Re: Maybe because (Score:4, Informative)
Freedom? why is it that whenever there is a protest, the CCP rush in and put up barriers to prevent people from seeing what's going on. Then the CCP arrests the protesters and they disappear permanently.
Let's talk about the CCP's love of censorship. There a lot of fires being set by employees due to a lack of receiving their pay. Instead of discussing everything the CCP tries to prevent any video or pictures of such incidents from being seen.