4 ms·

Chinese border guards put secret surveillance app on tourists' phones

59 points by tnolet 7y ago

Macuyiko 7y ago
This has been going on for at least a year. See https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-orders-xinjiangs-android-users-to-install-app-that-deletes-terrorist-content-07142017102032.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-orders-xinjiang... Some news outlets have also mentioned it in passing previously: https://www.wsj.com/articles/twelve-days-in-xinjiang-how-chinas-surveillance-state-overwhelms-daily-life-1513700355 https://www.wsj.com/articles/twelve-days-in-xinjiang-how-chi... https://www.economist.com/briefing/2018/05/31/china-has-turned-xinjiang-into-a-police-state-like-no-other https://www.economist.com/briefing/2018/05/31/china-has-turn... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/23/in-chinas-far-west-experts-fear-a-ticking-timebomb-religious https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/23/in-chinas-far-... Around that time, a user on reddit also reported that the app had been installed on his phone: https://www.reddit.com/r/security/comments/8ofiiw/chinese_border_police_installed_software_on_my/ https://www.reddit.com/r/security/comments/8ofiiw/chinese_bo... So not really news. Best advice remains to buy a burner phone to bring. Avoid public USB charging stations.
awsedr58479 7y ago
Disclaimer: using a throwaway for the matter. I've crossed this border before, and I did get my phone checked. A few additional facts: - 1-2 years ago, they were only taking the phone away while crossing the border TO China. If exiting China, they were using a portable machine in front of you - they attempt to connect your phone to a local WiFi network, download and install an app. The apps runs quick and is unlikely to send much data - at that time, they weren't checking iPhones, Android only - having another user on your Android phone, with restricted privileges (especially for chrome) seemed to be enough to prevent them from installing anything. The guard ended up searching the phone manually (i.e pictures) - but still on the restricted user Oh and: all police checkpoints have "charging" stations along the way. Edit: formatting
- chvid 7y ago
  I am curious; what border did you cross? How was Xinjiang? Did you just go there for tourism?
  - awsedr58479 7y ago
    The same as mentioned in the article: Irkeshtam (kashgar -> Kyrgyzstan). Yes mainly tourism, but also to see from my own eyes what's happening in Xinjiang, and the situation at the time wasn't great at all and very close to what you can read now and then (and it probably still is).
- saagarjha 7y ago
  > The apps runs quick and is unlikely to send much data What makes you think this?
  - awsedr58479 7y ago
    The apps runs for about a couple of minutes. The only way it can be sending data is over WiFi (I've seen it running on a friend's phone who didn't create a second user). The phone had gigs of data. So it might be collecting sensitive data but surely not dumping the whole content of the phone.
r3bl 7y ago
Discussed yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20335816 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20335816
NeonTiger1992 7y ago
Burner phone it is for China travels.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
karlp 7y ago
It's illuminating that even on Hacker News, the first two comment are "It's old news" and "They don't do too much". Even here public perception on surveillance is changing.
- pas 7y ago
  Yes and no. It's atrocious, but what can you do besides not going there, trying to persuade Trump et al. to conduct a much different foreign policy, use a burner phone, all of the above? And all of these have been already said. Today/yesterday in quite a few submissions and their comments.
  - michaelt 7y ago
    It's atrocious, but what can you do besides [...] trying to persuade Trump et al. [...] all of these have been already said. American politics would look very different if people who were for/against abortion, or for/against gun control, or for/against tax cuts were so quick to abandon their positions when they suffered a setback.
tobyhinloopen 7y ago
What about iPhones though?
- baybal2 7y ago
  Apple iphone has signature check on packages being installed I guess Apple refused to sign that
345218435 7y ago
you gotta love the openess of android. such delightful side-loading is not possible on ios. oh and sandboxing makes everything so hard.

59 points by tnolet 7y ago

This has been going on for at least a year. See https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-orders-xinjiangs-android-users-to-install-app-that-deletes-terrorist-content-07142017102032.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-orders-xinjiang... Some news outlets have also mentioned it in passing previously: https://www.wsj.com/articles/twelve-days-in-xinjiang-how-chinas-surveillance-state-overwhelms-daily-life-1513700355 https://www.wsj.com/articles/twelve-days-in-xinjiang-how-chi... https://www.economist.com/briefing/2018/05/31/china-has-turned-xinjiang-into-a-police-state-like-no-other https://www.economist.com/briefing/2018/05/31/china-has-turn... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/23/in-chinas-far-west-experts-fear-a-ticking-timebomb-religious https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/23/in-chinas-far-... Around that time, a user on reddit also reported that the app had been installed on his phone: https://www.reddit.com/r/security/comments/8ofiiw/chinese_border_police_installed_software_on_my/ https://www.reddit.com/r/security/comments/8ofiiw/chinese_bo... So not really news. Best advice remains to buy a burner phone to bring. Avoid public USB charging stations.

awsedr58479 7y ago

Disclaimer: using a throwaway for the matter. I've crossed this border before, and I did get my phone checked. A few additional facts: - 1-2 years ago, they were only taking the phone away while crossing the border TO China. If exiting China, they were using a portable machine in front of you - they attempt to connect your phone to a local WiFi network, download and install an app. The apps runs quick and is unlikely to send much data - at that time, they weren't checking iPhones, Android only - having another user on your Android phone, with restricted privileges (especially for chrome) seemed to be enough to prevent them from installing anything. The guard ended up searching the phone manually (i.e pictures) - but still on the restricted user Oh and: all police checkpoints have "charging" stations along the way. Edit: formatting

chvid 7y ago
I am curious; what border did you cross? How was Xinjiang? Did you just go there for tourism?
- awsedr58479 7y ago
  The same as mentioned in the article: Irkeshtam (kashgar -> Kyrgyzstan). Yes mainly tourism, but also to see from my own eyes what's happening in Xinjiang, and the situation at the time wasn't great at all and very close to what you can read now and then (and it probably still is).
saagarjha 7y ago
> The apps runs quick and is unlikely to send much data What makes you think this?
- awsedr58479 7y ago
  The apps runs for about a couple of minutes. The only way it can be sending data is over WiFi (I've seen it running on a friend's phone who didn't create a second user). The phone had gigs of data. So it might be collecting sensitive data but surely not dumping the whole content of the phone.

r3bl 7y ago

Discussed yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20335816 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20335816

NeonTiger1992 7y ago

Burner phone it is for China travels.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

karlp 7y ago

It's illuminating that even on Hacker News, the first two comment are "It's old news" and "They don't do too much". Even here public perception on surveillance is changing.

pas 7y ago
Yes and no. It's atrocious, but what can you do besides not going there, trying to persuade Trump et al. to conduct a much different foreign policy, use a burner phone, all of the above? And all of these have been already said. Today/yesterday in quite a few submissions and their comments.
- michaelt 7y ago
  It's atrocious, but what can you do besides [...] trying to persuade Trump et al. [...] all of these have been already said. American politics would look very different if people who were for/against abortion, or for/against gun control, or for/against tax cuts were so quick to abandon their positions when they suffered a setback.

tobyhinloopen 7y ago

What about iPhones though?

baybal2 7y ago
Apple iphone has signature check on packages being installed I guess Apple refused to sign that

345218435 7y ago

you gotta love the openess of android. such delightful side-loading is not possible on ios. oh and sandboxing makes everything so hard.