We learned in 2019 that the Chinese government spied on the smartphones of tourists visiting certain sensitive regions. Customs officials installed spyware on Android devices or used data extraction tools for iPhone. The government of the Middle Empire does not seem to have ended this kind of practices, far from it. A new report now reveals that VPN linked to Chinese companies Siledly collect our data via the App Store and the Play Store.
Applications that hide their real owner
Six weeks after the first alerts launched by Tech Transparency Project (TTP), Apple and Google still distribute Several dozen VPNs which would be affiliated with Chinese companies.
For those who do not know what Tech Transparency Project (TTP) is, it is a non -profit American organization which is investigating large technological companies (notably Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon).
Concretely, the field of action of the TTP concerns the practices of GAFAMs in terms of transparency, ethics, data collection, and political influence.
No products found.
In any case, the applications pointed out by the TTP promise to ensure your anonymity online, but do exactly the opposite. They never disclose their real owner in their conditions of use or on their download page.
Among these VPNs are Turbo VPN and VPN Proxy Master, both linked to Qihoo 360. It is a cybersecurity company under American sanctions For its links with the Chinese army. TTP has in all identified Thirteen Chinese VPN Always active on the Apple App Store:
- Turbo VPN
- VPN Proxy Master
- X VPN (Super VPN & Best Proxy)
- Ostrich VPN (Proxy Master)
- VPFY (Unlimited VPN)
- OVPNSPIDER VPN
- Wirevpn (Fast VPN & Proxy)
- Now VPN (Best VPN Proxy)
- Speedy Quark VPN (VPN Proxy)
- Best VPN Proxy Appvpn
- Hulavpn (Best Fast Secure VPN)
- Wirevpn (Secure & Fast VPN)
- Pearl VPN
These applications often use Company structures based in Singapore To hide their origins.
Considerable income that also benefits American giants
These applications are not content to collect your data without your knowledge, they also generateImportant income. X-VPN would have raised more than $ 10 million only with American users. Turbo VPN and VPN Proxy Master would each exceed the $ 5 million in revenue.
Apple and Google take up to 30% commission on this income. The two technology giants therefore benefit financially applications likely to expose data to the surveillance of a foreign government. Apple, however, says that VPNs on its app store have no right to sell or share user data, but control mechanisms remain opaque.
Finally, contrary to what one might think, the spying of personal data does not only concern totalitarian regimes, even if the practices are different. In the United Kingdom, for example, Apple recently had to deactivate its advanced data protection (ADP) following government pressures.
By: keleops ag
