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Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
VPN apps spying for China: Your VPN might be spying for China: Watchdog flags 17 apps with hidden ties on Apple and Google stores
How are these VPNs tied to China? Why is Qihoo 360 a concern? ADVERTISEMENT Which VPN apps were flagged earlier? ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT What are Apple and Google doing about it? FAQs Think your VPN is keeping you anonymous? Think again. A major watchdog report just revealed that 17 popular VPN apps available on Apple and Google stores might be quietly handing over your data with links pointing straight to to a report released on Thursday by the Technology Transparency Project, the firm involved may have discreet links to China, where the government can monitor all user report claims that 17 apps, six from Apple's App Store, four from Google Play Store, and seven from both, have hidden connections to China, as quoted in a report by NBC News.A new report by the Technology Transparency Project warns that 17 VPN apps, available on major app stores, may be secretly linked to Qihoo 360 , a Chinese cybersecurity firm under U.S. 360 is a firm sanctioned by the U.S. Commerce Department in 2020 for potential links to the Chinese military. While the apps don't explicitly name Qihoo, corporate filings and company records suggest they are operated by shell companies acquired by Qihoo in 2019, as per a are mainly utilized to safeguard a user's privacy by complicating a website's ability to identify its visitors, or to bypass censorship restrictions. However, if a VPN provider does not implement substantial measures to automatically and permanently erase its users' search histories, it is probable that the company will retain logs of its clients' online is especially significant if the company is Chinese, since national legislation requires that intelligence and law enforcement agencies can access any personal data stored there without a Katie Paul explained that VPNs carry unique risks since they reroute all of a user's internet activity through their servers. If those servers are controlled or accessed by Chinese-linked firms, it means user data, including sensitive work information and browsing habits, could end up in Beijing's Sherman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council focusing on data privacy, informed that utilizing a VPN owned by China would be equivalent to surrendering one's browsing history to Beijing, as per a report by NBC News. Experts fear user data could be accessed by Chinese authorities under China's broad surveillance TTP, a technology-oriented branch of the Campaign for Accountability, an investigative nonprofit aimed at uncovering "corruption, negligence, and unethical conduct," released a report on Chinese VPN applications on April 1. TTP reports that several of the VPNs are indirectly tied to Qihoo applications are all virtual private networks, or VPNs, enabling a user to route their internet traffic through a company's internet service. Names such as VPNify, Ostrich VPN, and Now VPN do not explicitly indicate any connections to China or Chinese ownership in the app Qihoo 360 isn't listed as the direct developer, many apps are operated by entities like Lemon Seed, Autumn Breeze, and Innovative Connecting all tied to Qihoo via Chinese and Cayman Islands quickly removed three apps purportedly connected to Qihoo 360: Thunder VPN, Snap VPN, and Signal Secure VPN. Turbo VPN and VPN Proxy Master, both accessible on the Google Play Store, along with three additional options provided by Google, remain availableThe findings raise important questions about who really controls these "free" VPN services and what happens to your data when you trust the wrong if it logs your data and shares it with third parties especially if it's tied to governments with wide surveillance all, but many free VPNs have vague ownership and poor privacy policies. Always research the company behind the app.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Your VPN might be spying for China: Watchdog flags 17 apps with hidden ties on Apple and Google stores
A new report by the Technology Transparency Project warns that 17 VPN apps, available on major app stores, may be secretly linked to Qihoo 360, a Chinese cybersecurity firm under U.S. sanctions. Experts fear user data could be accessed by Chinese authorities under China's broad surveillance laws. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads How are these VPNs tied to China? Why is Qihoo 360 a concern? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Which VPN apps were flagged earlier? What are Apple and Google doing about it? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads FAQs Think your VPN is keeping you anonymous? Think again. A major watchdog report just revealed that 17 popular VPN apps available on Apple and Google stores might be quietly handing over your data with links pointing straight to to a report released on Thursday by the Technology Transparency Project, the firm involved may have discreet links to China, where the government can monitor all user report claims that 17 apps, six from Apple's App Store, four from Google Play Store, and seven from both, have hidden connections to China, as quoted in a report by NBC News.A new report by the Technology Transparency Project warns that 17 VPN apps, available on major app stores, may be secretly linked to Qihoo 360 , a Chinese cybersecurity firm under U.S. 360 is a firm sanctioned by the U.S. Commerce Department in 2020 for potential links to the Chinese military. While the apps don't explicitly name Qihoo, corporate filings and company records suggest they are operated by shell companies acquired by Qihoo in 2019, as per a are mainly utilized to safeguard a user's privacy by complicating a website's ability to identify its visitors, or to bypass censorship restrictions. However, if a VPN provider does not implement substantial measures to automatically and permanently erase its users' search histories, it is probable that the company will retain logs of its clients' online is especially significant if the company is Chinese, since national legislation requires that intelligence and law enforcement agencies can access any personal data stored there without a Katie Paul explained that VPNs carry unique risks since they reroute all of a user's internet activity through their servers. If those servers are controlled or accessed by Chinese-linked firms, it means user data, including sensitive work information and browsing habits, could end up in Beijing's Sherman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council focusing on data privacy, informed that utilizing a VPN owned by China would be equivalent to surrendering one's browsing history to Beijing, as per a report by NBC News. Experts fear user data could be accessed by Chinese authorities under China's broad surveillance TTP, a technology-oriented branch of the Campaign for Accountability, an investigative nonprofit aimed at uncovering "corruption, negligence, and unethical conduct," released a report on Chinese VPN applications on April 1. TTP reports that several of the VPNs are indirectly tied to Qihoo applications are all virtual private networks, or VPNs, enabling a user to route their internet traffic through a company's internet service. Names such as VPNify, Ostrich VPN, and Now VPN do not explicitly indicate any connections to China or Chinese ownership in the app Qihoo 360 isn't listed as the direct developer, many apps are operated by entities like Lemon Seed, Autumn Breeze, and Innovative Connecting all tied to Qihoo via Chinese and Cayman Islands quickly removed three apps purportedly connected to Qihoo 360: Thunder VPN, Snap VPN, and Signal Secure VPN. Turbo VPN and VPN Proxy Master, both accessible on the Google Play Store, along with three additional options provided by Google, remain availableThe findings raise important questions about who really controls these "free" VPN services and what happens to your data when you trust the wrong if it logs your data and shares it with third parties especially if it's tied to governments with wide surveillance all, but many free VPNs have vague ownership and poor privacy policies. Always research the company behind the app.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Your VPN could be giving your browsing data to China, watchdog says
Using a free app to hide your internet traffic? The company behind it could be quietly tied to China, where the government maintains the ability to surveil all user data, according to a report published Thursday by the Technology Transparency Project. The report accuses 17 Apps — six on Apple's App Store, four on the Google Play Store and seven on both — of having undisclosed ties to China. In several cases, the TTP linked the app developers to a prominent Chinese cybersecurity company, Qihoo 360, which is under U.S. government sanctions. The apps are all virtual private networks, or VPNs, which allow a user to divert their internet traffic through a company's internet connection. With names like VPNify, Ostrich VPN and Now VPN, none of them make overt references to China or Chinese ownership on the app stores. VPNs are primarily used to either protect a user's privacy by making it harder for a website to know who's visiting them, or to skirt around censorship measures. But unless a VPN company takes significant steps to automatically and permanently delete its users' search histories, a company is likely to keep records of its customers' internet activity. That is particularly notable if the company is Chinese, as national law there stipulates that intelligence and law enforcement agencies do not need a warrant to view any personal data that is stored there. 'VPNs are of particular concern because anyone using a VPN has the entirety of their online activity routed through that application,' said Katie Paul, the TTP's director. 'When it comes to Chinese-owned VPNs, that means this data can be turned over to the Chinese government based on China's state laws,' Paul said. Justin Sherman, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who studies data privacy, told NBC News that using a Chinese-owned VPN would be tantamount to handing over one's browsing history to Beijing. 'Capturing data via a VPN could let the Chinese government see everything from websites a person is reading that criticize the Chinese state, to the corporate databases and private portals that person might pull up (and then log into) on the internet for work,' he said. The TTP, a tech-focused arm of the Campaign for Accountability, an investigative nonprofit that seeks to expose 'corruption, negligence, and unethical behavior,' previously published a report on Chinese VPN apps on April 1. Apple soon took down three of the apps with alleged ties to Qihoo 360: Thunder VPN, Snap VPN and Signal Secure VPN. The other apps — Turbo VPN and VPN Proxy Master, which are also available on the Google Play Store, as well as three others that Google offers — are all still available. None of the apps are listed as being developed directly by Qihoo 360. Instead, they are developed by Singapore-based companies including Lemon Seed, Lemon Clove, Autumn Breeze and Innovative Connecting. The TTP cited business filings in China that show Qihoo 360 saying it had acquired those companies in 2019, and Corporate registration documents for those companies in the Cayman Islands from March that all list the director as a Chinese citizen who is a top Qihoo 360 employee. NBC News reached out to developers listed for the 17 apps. Only two claimed not to have ties to China or Qihoo 360. Autumn Breeze, the developer of Snap VPN, which Apple previously removed but is still available on the Google Play store, told TTP it has "no affiliation with Qihoo 360" despite those registration documents, and claims it does not "record, monitor, or retain any user online activity." "Autumn Breeze fails to explain clear connections to the sanctioned PLA-linked entity that are detailed in publicly available documents," Paul told NBC News. The other is WireVPN, where an employee claimed in an email to NBC News that the company is 'an independent service' with 'no ties to Chinese entities or government organizations.' 'We are neither affiliated with Qihoo 360 nor any other PRC-based enterprises, and our operations are entirely autonomous,' the employee said. However, WireVPN's privacy policy makes clear that users are expected to adhere to Chinese law and bans them from 'Violating the basic principles established by the Chinese Constitution' and 'Violating the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, social morality, rational morality, and socialist spiritual civilization.' Qihoo 360 didn't respond to a request for comment. But China Daily, a state-run newspaper, has reported that its cybersecurity clients include the Chinese military and 'at least eight ministries' of the Chinese government. In a 2016 press release, the company seemed to indicate it was in the VPN business, saying 'Qihoo 360 also provides users with secure access points to the Internet via its market leading web browsers and application stores.' Both Apple and Google declined to address the specific apps that TTP highlighted as tied to Qihoo 360 and told NBC News that they follow U.S. laws regarding sanctions. Neither bans VPN app developers simply for following Chinese law. Peter Micek, general counsel at Access Now, a tech policy and human rights advocacy nonprofit, told NBC News that he was surprised to see the tech companies had potentially overlooked a sanctioned company offering apps under innocuous developer names. 'It seems like this project has done the homework and due diligence that Apple and Google should have done, and it does seem like those ties would constitute indirect contact with, transactions with folks who are sanctioned,' he said. Tech companies can sometimes face significant fines for violating sanctions, Micek said. Sanctions are put in place by the federal government as a penalty on foreign entities and individuals, preventing U.S. companies and individuals from doing business with them. They are often imposed after a foreign entity or individual is shown to have conducted some sort of condemned behavior or have links to condemned groups, such as cybercriminals or terrorist organizations. Qihoo 360 faced sanctions from the Commerce Department in 2020, which said the company could become involved in supplying materials to the Chinese military. The sanctions prevent American companies from exporting technology or software to Qihoo 360. It's not clear if app stores hosting apps tied to Qihoo could be in violation of those sanctions. The Commerce Department did not respond to a request for comment. This article was originally published on
NBC News
a day ago
- Business
- NBC News
Your VPN could be giving your browsing data to China, watchdog says
Using a free app to hide your internet traffic? The company behind it could be quietly tied to China, where the government maintains the ability to surveil all user data, according to a report published Thursday by the Technology Transparency Project. The report accuses 17 Apps — six on Apple's App Store, four on the Google Play Store and seven on both — of having undisclosed ties to China. In several cases, the TTP linked the app developers to a prominent Chinese cybersecurity company, Qihoo 360, which is under U.S. government sanctions. The apps are all virtual private networks, or VPNs, which allow a user to divert their internet traffic through a company's internet connection. With names like VPNify, Ostrich VPN and Now VPN, none of them make overt references to China or Chinese ownership on the app stores. VPNs are primarily used to either protect a user's privacy by making it harder for a website to know who's visiting them, or to skirt around censorship measures. But unless a VPN company takes significant steps to automatically and permanently delete its users' search histories, a company is likely to keep records of its customers' internet activity. That is particularly notable if the company is Chinese, as national law there stipulates that intelligence and law enforcement agencies do not need a warrant to view any personal data that is stored there. 'VPNs are of particular concern because anyone using a VPN has the entirety of their online activity routed through that application,' said Katie Paul, the TTP's director. 'When it comes to Chinese-owned VPNs, that means this data can be turned over to the Chinese government based on China's state laws,' Paul said. Justin Sherman, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who studies data privacy, told NBC News that using a Chinese-owned VPN would be tantamount to handing over one's browsing history to Beijing. 'Capturing data via a VPN could let the Chinese government see everything from websites a person is reading that criticize the Chinese state, to the corporate databases and private portals that person might pull up (and then log into) on the internet for work,' he said. The TTP, a tech-focused arm of the Campaign for Accountability, an investigative nonprofit that seeks to expose 'corruption, negligence, and unethical behavior,' previously published a report on Chinese VPN apps on April 1. Apple soon took down three of the apps with alleged ties to Qihoo 360: Thunder VPN, Snap VPN and Signal Secure VPN. The other apps — Turbo VPN and VPN Proxy Master, which are also available on the Google Play Store, as well as three others that Google offers — are all still available. None of the apps are listed as being developed directly by Qihoo 360. Instead, they are developed by Singapore-based companies including Lemon Seed, Lemon Clove, Autumn Breeze and Innovative Connecting. The TPP cited business filings in China that show Qihoo 360 saying it had acquired those companies in 2019, and Corporate registration documents for those companies in the Cayman Islands from March that all list the director as a top Qihoo 360 employee. NBC News reached out to developers listed for the 17 apps. Only one claimed not to have ties to China: WireVPN, where an employee claimed in an email that the company is 'an independent service' with 'no ties to Chinese entities or government organizations.' 'We are neither affiliated with Qihoo 360 nor any other PRC-based enterprises, and our operations are entirely autonomous,' the employee said. However, WireVPN's privacy policy makes clear that users are expected to adhere to Chinese law and bans them from 'Violating the basic principles established by the Chinese Constitution' and 'Violating the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, social morality, rational morality, and socialist spiritual civilization.' Qihoo 360 didn't respond to a request for comment. But China Daily, a state-run newspaper, has reported that its cybersecurity clients include the Chinese military and 'at least eight ministries' of the Chinese government. In a 2016 press release, the company seemed to indicate it was in the VPN business, saying 'Qihoo 360 also provides users with secure access points to the Internet via its market leading web browsers and application stores.' Both Apple and Google declined to address the specific apps that TTP highlighted as tied to Qihoo 360 and told NBC News that they follow U.S. laws regarding sanctions. Neither bans VPN app developers simply for following Chinese law. Peter Micek, general counsel at Access Now, a tech policy and human rights advocacy nonprofit, told NBC News that he was surprised to see the tech companies had potentially overlooked a sanctioned company offering apps under innocuous developer names. 'It seems like this project has done the homework and due diligence that Apple and Google should have done, and it does seem like those ties would constitute indirect contact with, transactions with folks who are sanctioned,' he said. Tech companies can sometimes face significant fines for violating sanctions, Micek said. Sanctions are put in place by the federal government as a penalty on foreign entities and individuals, preventing U.S. companies and individuals from doing business with them. They are often imposed after a foreign entity or individual is shown to have conducted some sort of condemned behavior or have links to condemned groups, such as cybercriminals or terrorist organizations. Qihoo 360 faced sanctions from the Commerce Department in 2020, which said the company could become involved in supplying materials to the Chinese military. The sanctions prevent American companies from exporting technology or software to Qihoo 360. It's not clear if app stores hosting apps tied to Qihoo could be in violation of those sanctions.
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Stolen Syrian antiquities flood online marketplace after Assad fall
The illegal trafficking of Syrian antiquities has spiked dramatically since December, according to findings by the Antiquities Trafficking and Heritage Anthropology Research Project (Athar). 'The last three to four months has been the biggest flood of antiquities trafficking I have ever seen, from any country, ever,' Katie Paul, Athar's co-director, told The Guardian. Nearly a third of the 1,500 Syrian antiquities trafficking cases documented by the group since 2012 have taken place in the months after Bashar Al Assad was toppled. The treasures are being sold online, primarily through Facebook Marketplace. 'When the regime fell, we saw a huge spike on the ground,' Amr al-Azm, co-director of Athar, told The Guardian. 'It was a complete breakdown of any constraints that might have existed in the regime periods that controlled looting.' Syria is still recovering from the blight of Baathist rule. The dismantlement of the regime's security network, which was a source of terror for citizens, as well as pervasive poverty are the driving forces behind the looting. Both professionals and amateurs are involved in the trafficking. Individuals have been digging heritage sites, such as in Palmyra, with metal detectors and shovels. Criminal networks, meanwhile, are making use of heavy machinery to extract entire mosaics and statues from archeological sites. Facebook currently hosts dozens of groups with members buying and selling metal detectors, posting pictures of pottery, coins, mosaics and manuscripts, and trying to get them appraised. Given Syria's rich history and the region's location at the crossroads of empires, the antiquities date back to several civilisations, including Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman. Thwarting the trafficking is a monumental task. The new Syrian government is attempting to curtail looting, proposing financial incentives for returning finds and threatening up to 15 years in prison. However, given the lack of government resources and the fact that 90 per cent of Syrian society is living under the poverty line, the looting is still widespread. The responsibility to put an end to the trafficking could fall on the West, which is where most of the stolen antiquities are being sold to. 'How do we stop this? Stop the demand in the West,' al-Azm, who is a professor of Middle East history and anthropology at Shawnee State University in Ohio, said. 'Until the security issue improves, you won't see an improvement. We focus on the supply side to abrogate the responsibility of the West.'
