Estonian Free PressEstonian Free Press
  • National Security
    • United States
    • United Kingdom
    • Europe
    • Estonia
    • Latvia
    • Lithuania
    • Moldova
    • Poland
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
  • Counterterrorism
  • Cybersecurity
  • Intelligence

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest National Security News directly to your inbox.

What's Hot

Dodon: Ping-pong între procurori. Mai aveți să vă jucați?

August 13, 2022

Peste 6.000 de votanți sunt așteptați la alegerile locale noi

August 13, 2022

Conflictul transnistrean, discutat de Bolbocean și Klimenko

August 13, 2022
Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact
Saturday, August 13
Estonian Free PressEstonian Free Press
  • National Security
    • United States
    • United Kingdom
    • Europe
    • Estonia
    • Latvia
    • Lithuania
    • Moldova
    • Poland
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
  • Counterterrorism
  • Cybersecurity
  • Intelligence
en English
en Englishet Estonianlv Latvianlt Lithuanianpl Polishro Romanianru Russianuk Ukrainian
Trending
  • Dodon: Ping-pong între procurori. Mai aveți să vă jucați?
  • Peste 6.000 de votanți sunt așteptați la alegerile locale noi
  • Conflictul transnistrean, discutat de Bolbocean și Klimenko
  • Președinția, ținta unui atac cibernetic: Serverul a fost compromis
  • Cabinet minister switches support to Liz Truss in blow to Sunak’s leadership campaign
  • Cum s-a adaptat Chironda în SUA: Combin depășirea jetlag-ului cu răceală
  • Trump Mar-a-Lago Search Warrant, Property Receipt Show Agents Found Trove of Classified Docs
  • Procurorul Iarmaliuc respinge acuzațiile lui Dodon privind mama sa
Subscribe
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Estonian Free PressEstonian Free Press
Home » ‘Throw away your Chinese phone,’ says Lithuania in new report

‘Throw away your Chinese phone,’ says Lithuania in new report

September 22, 20213 Mins Read Europe
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

Lithuania’s defence ministry has advised people to throw away their Chinese smartphones after a new report found that a mobile made by a major brand had built-in censorship capabilities.

Lithuania’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said on Tuesday that the Mi 10T 5G phone made by Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi was able to detect and censor phrases such as “Free Tibet,” “Long live Taiwan independence” and “democracy movement”.

Apps pre-installed on the phone, such as the Mi internet browser, periodically receive lists of banned words compiled by Xiaomi, the NCSC report said.

Although the functionality is disabled on phones sold in Europe, it has the potential to be activated without the user’s knowledge, the NCSC said.

‘Get rid of your Chinese phone’

“We found that Xiaomi phones sold in Lithuania had the content filtering function disabled and did not censor content, but censored keyword lists were still sent periodically,” said NCSC head of innovation Tatuvydas Bakšys in a statement.

“The device is technically enabled to activate the functionality remotely at any time without the user’s permission and to begin censoring the downloaded content,” Bakšys added.

At a presentation announcing the NCSC report, Lithuania’s Vice Minister of National Defence Margiris Abukevičius told reporters that consumers should not purchase phones from Chinese manufacturers.

“Our recommendation is to not buy new Chinese phones, and to get rid of those already purchased as fast as reasonably possible,” he said.

Data protection concerns

Xiaomi’s built-in browser also came under fire from the Lithuanian cyber security service for gathering “excess” amounts of user data, encrypting it and sending it to a server in Singapore, where the EU’s GDPR rules do not apply.

Other phones inspected by the NCSC included the Huawei P40 5G and the OnePlus 8T 5G.

Huawei’s built-in app store, AppGallery, posed a security threat to users by automatically redirecting searches to third-party app stores known to host malware, the report said.

No security flaws were discovered in the OnePlus phone, the NCSC said.

Xiaomi did not respond to a Reuters news agency request for comment. A Huawei spokesperson said that the company’s phones did not send user data externally.

Lithuania-China relations sour

Lithuania’s relations with China have been strained in recent months after the Baltic state allowed Taiwan to open a de-facto embassy in its capital Vilnius bearing the name “Taiwan”.

That’s unusual. Taiwan tends to go by the name “Chinese Taipei” in matters of international affairs to avoid enraging Beijing, which regards the island as a rebellious, breakaway province of China.

The move resulted in China recalling its ambassador to Lithuania.

Earlier this month Lithuania’s ambassador to Beijing returned to Vilnius “for consultations,” the country’s foreign ministry said.

Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously told Euronews Next that it was keen to pursue “closer economic, trade, cultural and academic relations” with Taiwan.

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States supported Lithuania in its dispute with China.

“We stand against economic coercion, including that being exerted by China. And we stand strongly for democracy, including in Belarus, where we’re very much working together,” he said.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Telegram Email

Articles Liés

FBI looked for ‘nuclear arms documents’ at Trump home, says newspaper

August 12, 2022 Europe

Possible extradition of Russian national from Bulgaria raises eyebrows

August 12, 2022 Europe

Kraken and Thales Sign Agreement

August 11, 2022 Europe

FNSS: A Globally trusted and respected Turkish partner in defence

August 11, 2022 Europe

EU to stand firm in clash with Poland over cash, officials say

August 11, 2022 Europe

Milrem Robotics Deliver First THeMIS UGV to Spain

August 10, 2022 Europe
Don't Miss
Moldova

Peste 6.000 de votanți sunt așteptați la alegerile locale noi

By woe whAugust 13, 20220

Peste 6.000 de alegători sunt așteptați în cele 3 localități din țară unde, la 16…

Conflictul transnistrean, discutat de Bolbocean și Klimenko

August 13, 2022

Președinția, ținta unui atac cibernetic: Serverul a fost compromis

August 13, 2022

Cabinet minister switches support to Liz Truss in blow to Sunak’s leadership campaign

August 12, 2022
Stay In Touch
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Vimeo
Our Picks

Trump Mar-a-Lago Search Warrant, Property Receipt Show Agents Found Trove of Classified Docs

August 12, 2022

Procurorul Iarmaliuc respinge acuzațiile lui Dodon privind mama sa

August 12, 2022

Salman Rushdie Stabbed Onstage at N.Y. Event; New Jersey Man Arrested

August 12, 2022

Візові обмеження для громадян РФ справедливі, і всі захисники європейських цінностей мають на них наполягати – звернення Президента України

August 12, 2022

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest National Security News directly to your inbox.

© 2022 Estonian Free Press. All rights reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.