How unsafe are Smartphones from China?
Chinese smartphones are of high quality and cheap. But for security reasons, five manufacturers have now been banned from the American market. How dangerous is mobile phones from China?
The US government prohibits the sale and import of communications devices from Chinese smartphone manufacturers, Huawei and ZTE network suppliers. The US Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said on Friday that it posed an unacceptable threat to national security. The Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr wrote on Twitter:
As a result of our request, new Huawei or ZTE devices cannot be approved.
In addition to Huawei and ZTE, FCC’s request also affects the devices of Hytera Communications as well as Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Dahua Technology. But how safe the smartphones coming from China? Can German customers buy smartphones without hesitation?
What should I search for when buying a smartphone?
Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo are manufacturers of smartphones from China who also sell their products in the German market. Before buying, buyers must take into account the aspects of technical safety and confidence in the manufacturer in addition to the ease of use and the work environment.
Says Frank Ritter, a smartphone expert from Giga.de. Because in Germany, Chinese smartphones are also committed to the law protecting the European data.
Rieter explains that companies make their own programs for the European market. This is relatively “tame”. So you can buy devices from major manufacturers such as Huawei and Xiaomi.
However, it was avoiding products from smaller and less well -known manufacturers. Christian Lawy is also advised by ESET security company:
There are some manufacturers that you think: “I don’t even know them.” These are often relatively cheap devices. So you should be very careful.
Lueg warns that anyone who buys a Chinese smartphone must also verify whether in his original package. Because there were already cases in which other programs were operated on devices – including spyware.
The expert explains that this may also affect products from well -known manufacturers, because such manipulations would have occurred on the way from the manufacturer’s factory to the consumer.
What should I pay attention to when using it?
The following does not apply to Chinese manufacturers only: data on our smartphones are collected and evaluated. Rieter says that with Chinese companies, data will be sent to Chinese servers. The Chinese government, in turn, has the right to access this.
Therefore, both experts urge the data economy. “As a user, you should be alert,” says Rieter. This applies, for example, to the permissions you give on your smartphone.
It is doubtful whether the applications integrated into the system require rights that are not actually necessary for use. For example, why does the compass application need to access the Internet?
Lack of confidence in general – not only with Chinese devices.
What are the rules of espionage?
Special rules in international law do not organize espionage or collecting information in another way. Therefore, it is not allowed under international law and is not explicitly prohibited under an international agreement. Therefore, national legislators have the freedom to organize the collection and processing of information by their intelligence devices and companies.
Cyber security in Germany is not only threatened by non -European intelligence services, but also by foreign companies, which are forced by legal requirements to support the intelligence services in their home country.
The United States, for example, accuses Huawei of establishing close relations with the Chinese authorities and warns of espionage and sabotage. But this was not proven.
