Samsung devices banned from use by Chinnese officials

Huawei, a supplier of networking gear,
has for years fended off allegations from
the U.S. that it secretly spies for the
Chinese government. But last year the
dispute appeared turned on its head when
leaks alleged the U.S. had been secretly
spying on China. Not only had the U.S.
National Security Agency hacked into
Chinese telecommunication companies, but
also spied on the communications of
Huawei executives, according to
documents from former NSA contractor
Edward Snowden. - PCWorld
Now we can add Samsung to the banned list in China.
Samsung devices have been banned from use by
Chinese state officials. Much like the reasons that
Apple was added to the banned list, the Chinese
government is claiming that they have security
concerns with Samsung devices.
This means that Huawei, already one of the largest
smartphone makers in China (and world), is the new
official mobile device provider for Chinese officials
and state employees. Let’s not also forget that Chinese
officials were previously barred from
installing Windows 8 on their devices.
As PhoneArena points out , it is also likely that the
Chinese government added Samsung to the banned list
to try and boost the development of some local
manufacturers.
Speaking of a local Chinese manufacturer, Xiaomi, a
leading China smartphone company, is currently
under investigation by the Taiwanese government to
determine whether Xiaomi is a cyber security threat.
The government began performing
independent tests on Xiaomi phones after
reports in recent months that some
models automatically send user data back
to the firm’s servers in mainland China,
Gin-Shian Lou, a director at Taiwan’s
National Communications Commission,
said on Wednesday. - Reuters
This is not the first time that Xiaomi has faced
allegations of security leaks. In August, a Finnish
security company found proof that Xiaomi was
collecting address book data without permission.
Xiaomi has also been accused of sending copies of text
messages back to servers in China.
The sending of data back to servers in China is one of
the reason that companies such as Google have opted
not to situate servers in China. Apple, on the other
hand, began to store users’ personal data on servers in
China last month .
According to the Taiwan National Communications
Commission, the test results of Xiaomi phones should
be made public soon. Until then, Taiwan continues to
view Chinese technology with suspicion. Taiwan’s
police force has recently encouraged employees not to
use WeChat, the mobile messaging app developed by
Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings.
SOURCE: Reuters,