For years, the use of insecure smart home appliances and other Internet-connected devices has resulted in personal data leaks. Many smart devices require users’ location, contact details or access to cameras and microphones to set up, which expose people’s personal information, but are unnecessary to use the product. As a result, data breaches and security incidents continue to emerge worldwide through smartphone apps, smart speakers, TVs, air fryers and robot vacuums.
Last week, another major data breach was added to the list: Mars Hydro, a Chinese company that makes Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as LED grow lights and the software to control them remotely. Jeremiah Fowler, a cybersecurity researcher at vpnMentor, on Feb. 12 reported that Mars Hydro had left 1.17 terabytes of non-password-protected data containing 2.7 billion records online, including users’ Wi-Fi network names, Wi-Fi passwords, Internet protocol addresses and device IDs.
The exposed data appeared to belong to users of the company’s Mars Pro smartphone app, even though Mars Hydro’s privacy notices on Apple’s App Store and Google Play state that the app does not collect user data, Fowler said. Within hours of notifying Mars Hydro, the database was no longer publicly available, but it is uncertain how long it was left unprotected or if unauthorized parties had accessed it, he said. The incident demands further investigation to get a full picture of users’ exposure, he said, adding that the issue yet again raises concerns over the security and privacy of IoT devices.
The Mars Hydro incident comes as Chinese start-up DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot was recently found to have transferred user data to ByteDance Ltd, TikTok’s parent company, which prompted many countries to ban public-sector entities from using DeepSeek or suspend downloads of the Chinese app. In Taiwan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs on Jan. 31 said that government agencies would be prohibited from using DeepSeek, but it remains unclear if the ministry would restrict public use of the service if it contravenes data protection laws.
Concerns over data leaks and hacking from Chinese software and devices have grown in the past few years. Security experts warn that apps from Chinese e-commerce sites such as AliExpress and Temu, as well as China-made IP cameras, smart speakers and robot vacuums, have data security vulnerabilities. They say risks stem from potential backdoors embedded during manufacturing or coding to weaken encryption methods and provide gateways for cyberattacks.
Make no mistake: Concerns over data breaches also exist for devices made by non-Chinese vendors. However, the issue with products made in China or by Chinese-owned companies is that the Chinese Communist Party, with no democratic oversight, could exploit such information for surveillance or intelligence-gathering purposes, posing national security threats. In addition, most countries generally require businesses to obtain consent from users before collecting their personal information. Unfortunately, some Chinese services do not inform users or bypass this requirement when collecting personal data.
In November last year, the Ministry of Digital Affairs acknowledged the importance of IoT information security as such devices become more popular. It said that regardless of the country of origin or the type of device, user data could be collected and become a potential security risk. It added that it would launch information security labels for IoT devices sold in Taiwan and propose data protection guidelines for device makers. In the meantime, users can take simple steps to mitigate potential risks, such as changing default passwords, restricting the access software and devices have to personal information, stopping data sharing, monitoring device activity and turning off devices when not in use.
What began on Feb. 28 as a military campaign against Iran quickly became the largest energy-supply disruption in modern times. Unlike the oil crises of the 1970s, which stemmed from producer-led embargoes, US President Donald Trump is the first leader in modern history to trigger a cascading global energy crisis through direct military action. In the process, Trump has also laid bare Taiwan’s strategic and economic fragilities, offering Beijing a real-time tutorial in how to exploit them. Repairing the damage to Persian Gulf oil and gas infrastructure could take years, suggesting that elevated energy prices are likely to persist. But the most
In late January, Taiwan’s first indigenous submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), completed its first submerged dive, reaching a depth of roughly 50m during trials in the waters off Kaohsiung. By March, it had managed a fifth dive, still well short of the deep-water and endurance tests required before the navy could accept the vessel. The original delivery deadline of November last year passed months ago. CSBC Corp, Taiwan, the lead contractor, now targets June and the Ministry of National Defense is levying daily penalties for every day the submarine remains unfinished. The Hai Kun was supposed to be
Most schoolchildren learn that the circumference of the Earth is about 40,000km. They do not learn that the global economy depends on just 160 of those kilometers. Blocking two narrow waterways — the Strait of Hormuz and the Taiwan Strait — could send the economy back in time, if not to the Stone Age that US President Donald Trump has been threatening to bomb Iran back to, then at least to the mid-20th century, before the Rolling Stones first hit the airwaves. Over the past month and a half, Iran has turned the Strait of Hormuz, which is about 39km wide at
There is a peculiar kind of political theater unfolding in East Asia — one that would be laughable if its consequences were not so dangerous. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) on April 12 returned from Beijing, where she met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and spoke earnestly about preserving “peace” and maintaining the “status quo.” It is a position that sounds responsible, even prudent. It is also a fiction. Taiwan is, by any honest definition, an independent country. It governs itself, defends itself, elects its leaders, and functions as a free and sovereign democracy. Independence is not a
RSS