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From the original report, linked to by this article: > A Chinese manufacturer (possibly many manufacturers) builds a wide variety of Android-based devices, inc
by neilv 3y ago
From the original report, linked to by this article:
> A Chinese manufacturer (possibly many manufacturers) builds a wide variety of Android-based devices, including phones, tablets, and CTV boxes. At some point between the manufacturing of these products and their delivery to resellers, physical retail stores and e-commerce warehouses, a firmware backdoor— based on Triada malware—gets installed and the product boxes are sealed in plastic, priming these devices for fraud on arrival at their destination.
Isn't it OK to name that manufacturer and affected brands?
US brands deal all the time with dilution due to counterfeits made in sketchy factories.
Why protect the manufacturer/brands in this one case? Especially when there's a particularly problematic supply chain problem involving the manufacturer, and to which they might be especially vulnerable (if not complicit or even the perpetrator)?
In addition to the obvious reason of providing negative feedback to parties involved and in a position to improve, the last sentence of the article demonstrates how not naming them hurts legitimate but lesser-known/upstart brands who are not involved and who don't deserve the negative feedback:
> recommending that users choose familiar brands when purchasing new products.
- vuln 3y agoThe Non-US company will just keep shipping under a different brand name. It’s akin to playing wack a mole. Any US Companies targeting the US education system as clients comes with insane markup (anything iPad). The US based companies are still going to data collect (see chromebooks) the schools are so underfunded, their only choice is to use cheap Non-US knock offs.
- parker_mountain 3y agoMicrosoft charges next to nothing, and even subsidizes hardware, for edu MDM'd devices. Basic services are more expensive than enterprise, but not by much. The second you want any educational specific SKUs, though, holy shit.
- pyeri 3y agoI think Microsoft, Github and many other companies also provide many free/subsidized services to those who can prove they're students, that includes even web hosting on AWS or digital ocean IIRC. Even leaving those aside, there are also plenty of open source options (such as LibreOffice) for those "services" and software that kids find useful.
- doubleg72 3y agoIdk, I used to work IT in schools and in NYS, funding is distributed to schools based on their poverty levels. So that wasn't the case, we were buying chromebooks from reputable vendors and brands. Most all use Dell for regular laptops and desktops.
- wolverine876 3y agoPossibly they didn't have enough evidence to name the brands.
- orangepurple 3y ago> A Chinese manufacturer (possibly many manufacturers) builds a wide variety of Android-based devices, including phones, tablets, and CTV boxes. At some point between the manufacturing of these products and their delivery to resellers, physical retail stores and e-commerce warehouses, a firmware backdoor— based on Triada malware—gets installed and the product boxes are sealed in plastic, priming these devices for fraud on arrival at their destination. It is probably not the case in this instance, but the NSA TAO does this for a living.
- hulitu 3y ago> It is probably not the case in this instance, but the NSA TAO does this for a living. Why not ? Especially given the case that they were bought in bulk so this made life more easier. Ciscos are also made in China but i don't see people blaming China for Cisco's backdoors.
- kristopolous 3y agoProbably legal said no.
- aaron695 3y ago[dead]
- est 3y ago> Isn't it OK to name that manufacturer and affected brands? Because it doesn't matter. It costs 0.01USD to change the name of the manufacturer and brand tag, or even to no-name at all. The entire factory line and staff can be renamed/reallocated by the customer's wish.
- fatfingerd 3y agoSo force them to rename. The article acts as slander against long term Chinese companies that haven't renamed themselves and probably do as much or as little as the fake Western Brands to secure boot.
- rewmie 3y ago> Because it doesn't matter. It costs 0.01USD to change the name of the manufacturer and brand tag, or even to no-name at all. I disagree, it does matter. It might not be a silver bullet that prevents this problem from ever happening again, but it helps the public stay away from devices that are already in the market and provides the necessary information to track and avoid manufacturers. > It costs 0.01USD to change the name of the manufacturer and brand tag, or even to no-name at all. It's still the same device. You can identify it by looking at it. It might not prevent further abuses, but it helps counter the ones already in place. There is zero reasons to not name the manufacturer.
- samus 3y agoIt matters a lot. Like this, the article contributes zero actionable information. Knowing the brand can at least make device owners aware that they should consider switching. Also, the article might just as well avoid mentioning that the brand is Chinese. Like this, this article can be dismissed as slander against Chinese brands in general.
- timbo1642 3y ago[dead]