Nitrokey: Smartphones with Qualcomm chip share too much user data
Smartphones based on Qualcomm processors were caught spying on users. This was reported on the Nitrokey website.
Experts studied smartphones based on Qualcomm chips and found out that they secretly share an excessive amount of data with the processor manufacturer. Among other things, the gadget tells Qualcomm the device ID, chip name, mobile country code, OS type, device make and model, and the device’s IP address.
During the experiment, engineers set up a custom build of Android on a Sony Xperia XA2 smartphone, devoid of Google services. According to experts, in this way the device should not send any data to third parties, which was seen in the case of services from Google. The experts found that a few seconds after turning on the smartphone connected to the izatcloud.net address associated with Qualcomm.
It turned out that the device sent data to the Izat Cloud cloud storage. At the same time, the information was transmitted via the HTTP protocol, that is, if desired, it can be intercepted. According to experts, a similar problem is observed on all smartphones with a chip from Qualcomm.
“We believe that collecting user data without their consent is contrary to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),” Nitrokey concluded. The engineers contacted Qualcomm, where they replied that they did not violate user privacy in this way.
Earlier, Acronis experts said that public Wi-Fi networks can be used by hackers to attack smartphone users. According to experts, attackers organize free Wi-Fi networks in crowded places.
Source: Lenta
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