Preinstalled malware on low-cost phones stealing data and money from poor people

[tupac_speedrap]

Premium brands aren't helping by normalising this, maybe not to the same degree but every Android experience seems to come with vendor botnet stuff built in.

[refresher]

Some slightly dystopian vibes in that first image.

[richij]

Ever been to Nigeria? Outside the big cities, that is.

[aaron695]

> called the idea of Chinese-made phones extracting data and money from people living in poverty “digital colonialism.”

How do I leave this timeline?

> blaming an unidentified “vendor in the supply chain process.”

I think at this stage it would be reasonable to assume it might be an Africa vendor. Would they not have some localisation? We can't jump to Chinese hate yet :(

[netsharc]

One link in the article shows the problem also exists in phones sold in Brazil and Myanmar: https://www.upstreamsystems.com/pre-installed-malware-androi... . I'd look at the source.

[mwcampbell]

I think the fact that these phones are Chinese-made is irrelevant, and calling this out in the title is linkbait that plays to our natural xenophobia. I would simply replace "Chinese-made" with "Cheap". I think that would better convey the most important point, that the reason these phones are cheap is that they're subsidized in a way that will ultimately be costly to their users.

[xiphias2]

I would hope that EU consumer protection laws are strong enough that this couldn't be done so easily in the EU without consequences to the seller. At the same time when it comes to international law, everything gets much harder to enforce.

[soco]

Are any known similar situations where non-chinese phones are involved?

[xster]

Agreed. This article is only sensible if you would write the same title after reading the primary source.

> It’s the latest example of how cheap Chinese smartphones take advantage of the world’s poorest people. Current security concerns about Chinese apps and hardware have largely focused on potential back doors in Huawei’s 5G equipment. More recently, people have focused on how user data collected by TikTok could be abused by the company and the Chinese government. But an overlooked and ongoing threat is the consistent presence of malware on cheap smartphones from Chinese manufacturers and how it exacts a digital tax on people with low incomes.

I get a feeling the author wrote this conclusion before writing the article :)

It's a digital tax if the taxman collects the tax. So what is this tax?

Here's the primary source it's referencing: https://www.upstreamsystems.com/pre-installed-malware-androi...

> Systematic collection & transfer of their personal information to a 3rd country server without their consent.

> Depletion of their data allowance -a huge issue in emerging markets where the cost of data is dramatically high. In Brazil, for example, 1GB for prepaid subscribers costs the equivalent of 6h of work on minimum wage.

> Fraudulent transactions and charges to their prepaid airtime, the only way users can pay for digital services in emerging markets, as most people are unbanked. In Africa, 94% of the population has no account with a financial institution.

This might as well describe Yelp. How do we go from this to "Secretly Stealing Money From People Around The World"?

[tantalor]

China's global production share was 68% in 2019, but it is losing ground to India.

https://www.counterpointresearch.com/chinas-smartphone-produ...

[zigh]

I have to second this. The problem described in the article is how cheap phones get exploited by malwares and apps that come preinstalled on them. This could be the reason why they become so cheap in the first place, both the manufacturers and distributors could have been collaborating with the app makers. I seriously doubt any brand would intentionally pre-install any money-stealing app to damage their long term business. Without looking into the details of the specific apps and how they got installed, using a title of obvious Sino-phobia and simply play the blame-China game like Donald Trump, is just lame and iresponsible.

[SomeoneFromCA]

If the only cheap phones that steal are from China, then "Chines-made" qualifier is relevant.

[netsharc]

Hear hear. iPhones are made in China too, are they doing the same thing?

(The snarky person would respond "not the exact same thing...").

[ndndkdofofi]

I think the fact that they are Chinese made is completely relevant and I think your comment is bait that plays to people's desire not to be racist. There is a serious rot in the world as a result of the CCP - can we stop acting like fools and admit that is a fact and not some racist nonsense? No one says bashing Nazis is anti German. This is a regime that made meat patties out of the best of their youth and I am so sick of the apologist garbage I see on this website especially from Daniel Gackle.