Could App Keyboards Be Watching You? You Could Be At Risk!
Major vulnerability in Chinese keyboards: Your conversations can be recorded if you haven’t updated your apps. Here are the details!
A study conducted at the University of Toronto’s citizen lab has put giant Chinese manufacturers in trouble. According to the university, hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens who use keyboards of famous manufacturers such as Oppo, Baidu and Xiaomi, which have billions of users, are under a great threat.
Your Writing May Be Recorded!
Chinese is a very complex language with tens of thousands of characters. Therefore, it is essential to use a software called “Input Method Editor” (IME). One of the most popular applications of this method is Baidu’s Pinyin application. The vulnerability is due to the weak encryption methods used by this application.
Tencent, the famous publisher of PUBG, Oppo and vivo also have similar problems with their apps. Although Tencent says it will fix its products by April 1, it still has not taken a clear step. It is thought that the biggest reason for not taking this step is not to damage the reputation of the application.
According to the University’s report, even if manufacturers fix security vulnerabilities, we users are still not satisfied. That’s why big manufacturers like Honor don’t allow keyboard updates, making these vulnerabilities permanent.
This sensational event, which occurred in a giant market like China, is unlikely to happen in other countries. The fact that all messages and correspondence of users are under threat is the biggest concern of us technology lovers.
If you are a Chinese keyboard user, don’t forget to update your Pinyin apps as soon as possible.
