The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday ordered Taiwan Mobile to recall all of its self-branded, China-made smartphones after the phones’ built-in software was found to contain a malicious program exploitable by scammers.
The telecom in April 2018 launched the Amazing A32 smartphone, which was manufactured in China, to encourage 3G users to upgrade to 4G, the commission said.
The phone cost NT$1,990 (US$70 at the current exchange rate).
Photo courtesy of the National Communications Commission
The telecom sold about 90,000 units of the model before it stopped offering them in July last year, NCC data showed.
As of Dec. 20, about 7,600 Taiwan Mobile subscribers were still using the smartphone, while the remainder of the buyers had migrated to other carriers or bought new smartphones, the commission said.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau last year informed the ministry of the information security breach, NCC Deputy Chairman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said, adding that the commission had also received five complaints from service subscribers.
The bureau’s investigation found that the implanted program enabled scammers to obtain subscribers’ phone numbers, which they then used to open accounts for mobile game apps.
The apps would send the Taiwan Mobile subscribers a text message with a verification code, which the malicious program would also send to the scammers.
After the scammers finished registering on the mobile game apps, the text message would be automatically deleted from the subscribers’ phones. All of this would proceed without the subscribers’ knowledge.
The company should recall the smartphones “as soon as possible,” Wong said, without specifying a time frame.
The recall would allow subscribers to request a software update or a partial refund, Wong added.
Taiwan Mobile has set up a customer service hotline (0809-000-852) to answer questions from all Amazing A32 users, including those who have switched to other carriers.
Failure to address the problem could constitute a breach of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法) and the telecom could face a fine of up to NT$1 million, Wong said, adding that the company could be fined until the issue is resolved.
To protect people from information security breaches on mobile phones manufactured in China, telecoms can only sell self-branded mobile phones manufactured in China after they obtain information security certification from the Taiwan Association of Information and Communication Standards, he said.
The telecoms must sign an affidavit saying that they would enforce remedial measures to address security breaches caused by preinstalled software on the phones, he added.
The commission would randomly check the top 10 models in Taiwan and mobile phones made in China to ensure that they meet national information security standards, Wong said, adding that telecoms and manufacturers that fail annual inspections would be required to resolve the issues immediately.
The commission already required mobile phone manufacturers to sign an affidavit guaranteeing that phones would not show Taiwan as being part of China after software updates, the ministry said.
Contravening the regulation would keep the commission from certifying a smartphone’s specifications, which manufacturers need to sell products in Taiwan, it added.
UNDER WATCH: Taiwan will have to establish a standardized nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus and monitor its spread, the CDC said The Langya henipavirus, which can be transmitted from animals to humans, has been discovered in China, with 35 human infections reported so far, Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said, adding that the nation would establish a nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus. A study titled “A Zoonotic Henipavirus in Febrile Patients in China” that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday said that a new henipavirus associated with a fever-causing human illness was identified in China. The study said an investigation identified 35 patients with acute infection of the Langya henipavirus in China’s Shandong
MISSILE PATHS: Certain information on the Chinese missile fire was not disclosed to maintain secrecy over military intelligence-gathering capabilities, the MND said Military experts yesterday speculated on the implication of the government’s tight-lipped response and the lack of air-raid sirens during the first day of China’s military drills the previous day. On Thursday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched 11 Dongfeng-series ballistic missiles into waters north, east and south of Taiwan, a day after US House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s departure from the country, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. The Japanese Ministry of Defense said that China fired nine missiles toward Taiwan, including four that flew over Taiwan proper. However, China’s exhibition of force failed to terrorize the local populace, because
If any war were to break out between the US and China, one trigger might be the increasingly frequent fighter jet encounters near Taiwan. Almost every day, Taiwanese fighter pilots hop in their US-made F-16s to intercept Chinese warplanes screaming past their territory. The encounters probe the nation’s defenses and force the pilots on both sides to avoid mistakes that could lead to a crisis that spins out of control. “I didn’t know whether they would fire at me,” said retired colonel Mountain Wang, recounting a tense five-minute confrontation he had with Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) jets more than a decade
INCREASINGLY EMBOLDENED: China can no longer be dismissed as inexperienced, demonstrating an ability to coordinate land and sea missile systems, an expert said Beijing’s largest-ever exercises around Taiwan have offered essential clues into its plans for a grueling blockade in the event of an attack on Taiwan, and revealed an increasingly emboldened Chinese military, experts said. The visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi — second in line to the presidency — sparked outrage from Beijing, which launched vast military maneuvers around the nation, even at the risk of partially exposing its plans to the US and its Asian allies. Mobilizing fighter planes, helicopters and warships, the drills aim to simulate a blockade of Taiwan and include practicing an “attack on