Chinese Government Could Be Collecting And Reading American Text Messages

It was recently discovered that a particular brand of budget smartphone from a Chinese company has an app that collects texts messages from its U.S. users and then sends it to someone in China. This prompts the possibility that the Chinese government is spying on American citizens through data mining. Right now, U.S. authorities aren’t sure if this is being done to sell ads to users or for more nefarious intelligence collection purposes.

The Chinese company in question is Shanghai Adups Technology Company and they are making disposable smartphones that cost about $50 each, The New York Times reports. Being cheap models that are also capable of web browsing and high-definition streaming, they are incredibly popular in the market. Unfortunately, a U.S. security company called Kryptowire discovered a software installed in the phones that allowed outsiders to see the messages that users send to their contacts.

This software is not only included in over 700 million units of the smartphone, it’s actually also present in cars, tablets, and other connected devices that are under the BLU Products line. The information collected will then be transmitted to someone in China every 72 hours, where they are most like read and stored.

Aside from simply data mining, it would appear that the software is also able to provide outside parties with limited control over the smartphones, Phys.org reports. The smartphones could be given commands and they can even be reprogrammed remotely.

The company released a statement about the incident following an uproar from a concerned public about yet another example of a breach of privacy. According to Shanghai Adups, the software was simply intended to screen out junk texts and block spam calls. It also said that the software has since been disabled after receiving complaints from various retailers and partners in the U.S.