The Ministry of Digital Affairs yesterday officially named Douyin, Xiaohongshu (小紅書, known as RedNote in English), Sina Weibo, Weixin and Baidu Cloud as information security risks and urged the public to be wary and better protect their digital safety.
The ministry said that the apps all collect sensitive information, tap into device storage, exceed authorization parameters, access users’ biometric details, access system information, and send or share information with third parties.
Once users have approved apps to access internal storage, sensitive information, such as geolocation, contact lists and credit card numbers, they could be exposed and used without authorization, the ministry said.
Photo: CNA
Biometric information accessed in this way could be used to create deepfake videos or audio messages to scam friends and family, or to spread disinformation, it said.
The apps could allow scam groups to learn users’ daily habits, thereby exposing them to a greater risk of being scammed or harassed, the ministry said.
As the Chinese government demands that corporations provide client information by law, any information saved or processed by Chinese corporations or companies within China is at greater risk, compared with corporations in other nations, of being accessed by Chinese intelligence units, the ministry said.
The government in September amended the Information and Communication Security Management Act (資通安全管理法), requiring that all equipment used by government agencies be banned from downloading or installing any of the apps mentioned.
The amendments also stated that all government networks should ban access and use of the software, the ministry said.
The ministry urged users to refrain from using or installing the apps, carefully read the privacy policy of all apps to know where the app is storing its data, allow apps minimal access and regularly review authority settings, take note of security warnings of apps wanting more access, not install apps from unknown sources, and to use firewall and antivirus programs.
Administration for Cybersecurity Director-General Tsai Fu-lung (蔡福隆) said that apps usually cannot operate outside the parameters set by the operating system, adding that the public should be able to determine whether an app has requested authorization to access functions it is not supposed to.
Tsai urged the public not to download free apps on a whim and to download only the software they need or use, and to remove unnecessary apps.
Asked about the ministry’s progress on designating high-risk apps for elementary schools, Tsai said the ministry is still in talks with the Ministry of Education and would hopefully announce the list before the end of this month.
Tsai said that the Taiwan Academic Network, used by junior-high and high schools, already prevents users from accessing TikTok, Xiaohongshu and other platforms hosting short videos.
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