Popular Chinese shopping app Pinduoduo has over 750 million customers a month and sells a product range as diverse as groceries. Unfortunately, however, cybersecurity researchers who have conducted an analysis of their Android app have found it laden with malware that affects the device and accesses data from other apps. The malware exploits Android system vulnerabilities and alters settings, allowing it to monitor user activity.
According to former and current employees, Pinduoduo has a team that is focused on the discovery of Android vulnerabilities so it can increase sales by monitoring customers and competitors. This news could be of worry to its customers, as under Chinese law, it is very possible for the company to give collected data to the Chinese government. In light of the findings, Google suspended Pinduoduo’s app from its Play Store.
Another security news of this week is from the Garante per la Protezione dei Dati Personali, Italy’s data regulator. The company announced that it had temporarily blocked OpenAI from incorporating Italians’ personal data in its training data. As a result, people in Italy are barred from accessing OpenAI’s generative AI platform, ChatGPT.
An investigation also exposed dangerously missing security defense in the US agriculture sector and its food supply chain. Plus, a small US gadget blog took on the Chinese surveillance industry after it found alarming issues with foreign security cameras.
Meanwhile, the open source VPN Amnezia has been allowing individuals in Russia to stay one step ahead of the Kremlin’s censorship and digital control. The Tor Project and the open source VPN maker Mullvad have also joined hands to create a privacy-focused browser with the VPN of your choosing.
The aforementioned have just been some of the most notable security news this week. Moreover, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a sting on the Genesis dark-web market, the IRS aimed to purchase an online mass surveillance tool, and law enforcement from 17 counties collaborated to take down the widely used digital criminal marketplace Genesis. 119 people were arrested during the operation.
Pinduoduo, the China-based ecommerce giant, has been in the news this week due to its Android app, which contains malware that exploits Android vulnerabilities in order to take control of users’ devices and monitor their activity. This app has been suspended from the Google Play Store, but, given Pinduoduo’s extensive customer base of 750 million users a month, it is a reminder of the importance of being vigilant about what one downloads and how we should always ensure the security of our devices.
