The word "Smart" in Smartphone is more than just the device working like a personal computer. In all other cases, "smart" also means that it is safe, with the personal information of its users secures from being stolen. One mobile and market analytics, however, reported the exact opposite.
Kryptowire said that they were able to identify several Android-based mobile devices that "contained firmware that collected sensitive personal data" without the consent of its users. Also, the firmware "actively transmitted user and device information" including targeted user and text messages using specific and defined keywords, contact lists and the phone's call history with its corresponding telephone numbers. It could also transmit "unique device identifiers" such as the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI).
USA Today, who also reported on the issue, stated that among the devices Kryptowire has identified was the Blu R1 HD. The device sells for only $50 on Best Buy and Amazon. Since Kryptowire published its research, the company was able to take down the intrusive firmware and is "no longer collecting or sending this information."
A backdoor in some Android phones sends all your text messages to China every 72 hours, analysts say https://t.co/j4kiCZ4mzH
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 16, 2016
The website added that while text messages are transmitted to Shanghai Adups Technology in China every 72 hours, valuable user data are sent everyday. On the other hand, the firmware that shipped with the device allowed for the "remote installation of applications" through software updates and again, without the consent of users. Kryptowire suggested that monitoring activities were done through Firmware Over The Air (FOTA).
There's no telling why Adups would want to steal information from those coming from the United States. In an interview with the New York Times, they said that the software was created so that Chinese mobile phone manufacturers could "monitor behavior of its users". Their lawyer claimed that they "made a mistake".
