(TheLibertyRevolution.Com)- If you’re using a Chinese Xiaomi-branded cellphone, you may want to reconsider. A new report from cybersecurity experts claims that the Chinese manufacturer is spying on Xioami users, logging what people access on the internet and content on their phone using “backdoor” technology in the Android operating system.
The news comes at a time when much of the world is angry at China for handling the outbreak of the Chinese coronavirus so badly.
A Forbes report claims that a cybersecurity researcher found that his online activity was being logged and collected from his Xiaomi smartphone, and later being sent back to the manufacturer in China. Gabi Cirlig described his device as “a backdoor with phone functionality.”
Cirlig was using the Redmi Note 8 smartphone and discovered that personal information was being sent through the internet to remote servers being rented by Xiaomi from Chinese tech company Alibaba.
Specifically, he discovered that the device recorded all of the websites he visited, and all the queries he put into search engines like Google. He also says that the device recorded the folders and files he opened on his phone, the settings he accessed, the apps he shut down. This extremely personal and sensitive information was all being distributed back to the servers in Russia and Singapore but were directed through Beijing web domains.
He wasn’t the only researcher to discover it, either. Andrew Tierney discovered that the browser that comes pre-installed by Xiaomi on its handheld devices, known as Mi Browser Pro, was collecting all data that passes through it. Along with the Mint Browser, which Tierney said does the same thing, it has amassed more than 15 million downloads on the Google Play store.
Millions of people all over the world may be having their personal information transferred to servers controlled by Xiaomi right now.
Naturally, the Chinese company denied the claims.
“The research claims are untrue,” Xiaomi said in a statement. “Privacy and security is of top concern,” the company claimed, adding that the brand “strictly follows and is fully compliant with local laws and. Regulations on user data privacy matters.”
There’s only so much trust Western consumers have in Chinese companies when China is understood to have covered up the initial outbreak of the coronavirus.
Both Tierney and Cirlig doubled down on their claims, saying that Xiaomi’s reporting on personal data was more invasive than any other browser app. If you’re interested in understanding exactly how the data breaches are happening, you can access the full report here.
