One of China’s most popular apps has the ability to spy on its users, say experts | CNN Business

The article discusses the discovery of malware in Pinduoduo's mobile app, which is a Chinese e-commerce company. The malware was found to have been developed by a team of engineers and product managers who were working for Pinduoduo.

The malware had several malicious features, including the ability to access users' locations, contacts, calendars, notifications, and photo albums without their consent. It also allowed attackers to change system settings and access users' social network accounts and chats.

Pinduoduo issued an update to its app, which removed the exploits, but some experts believe that the underlying code was still present and could be reactivated to carry out attacks.

The discovery of the malware is concerning because it violates China's data protection laws, which were introduced in 2021. The law prohibits companies from exploiting internet-related security vulnerabilities or engaging in actions that endanger cybersecurity.

Regulators in China have failed to take action against Pinduoduo despite knowing about the malware. This has led some experts to question why regulators cannot understand coding and programming, nor do they understand technology.

The incident highlights the need for greater oversight of Chinese tech companies, particularly those with large user bases like Pinduoduo. It also raises concerns about the ability of regulators to effectively monitor and enforce data protection laws in China.

Some key points from the article include:

* Pinduoduo's mobile app contains malware that can access users' sensitive information without their consent.
* The malware was developed by a team of engineers and product managers who were working for Pinduoduo.
* Pinduoduo issued an update to its app, which removed the exploits, but some experts believe that the underlying code was still present.
* China's data protection laws were introduced in 2021 and prohibit companies from exploiting internet-related security vulnerabilities or engaging in actions that endanger cybersecurity.
* Regulators in China have failed to take action against Pinduoduo despite knowing about the malware.
* The incident highlights the need for greater oversight of Chinese tech companies, particularly those with large user bases like Pinduoduo.
 
🤔 this is so messed up i mean pinduoduo has got a huge following in china but it's clear they're not taking data protection seriously and that's a big concern 🚨 i think the chinese regulators need to get their act together and start understanding tech better because right now it feels like they're just sleeping on these issues 👀 and what's even more concerning is that pinduoduo was aware of the malware but still didn't do anything about it 🤷‍♂️ this kind of negligence can have serious consequences for users' personal info 📊 i'm just worried that if something like this happens again, we'll see a lot more people getting affected by it 💔
 
omg u guyz i cant believe pinduoduo would do this 2 their own users i mean wer r they thinking?? it's not cool @ all that malware thingy is so bad & they knew about it but didnt do anythin about it lol regulator fail

i'm still in shock abt dis & i think its time we talk about better regulation in china esp when it comes 2 tech companies like pinduoduo they r supposed 2 b protectin us not exploitin our info i mean what's the point of havin data protection laws if nobody enforces them??
 
lol what's up 🤔, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one... so Pinduoduo is caught red-handed with malware in their app 😱, and it's just wild that they didn't even bother to fix it properly when they knew about it 🙄. And now experts are all like "regulators need to step up their game" 👮‍♂️, which I'm totally down for 🤗, because let's be real, who doesn't love a good cybersecurity win? 💥 but seriously though, it's crazy that Pinduoduo is basically getting a free pass just because they're a big deal in China 🤯. It's time to bring the heat on these companies and make sure our info is protected 💪
 
🚨this is getting out of hand 🤯 a chinese company gets caught with some pretty nasty malware and the regulators are all like "oh no what will we do" 🙄 meanwhile the people who get hacked are left feeling vulnerable 😕 gotta wonder if china's data protection laws are even being taken seriously 🤔
 
I was just thinking about my favorite childhood hobby – gardening 🌱! I used to spend hours in our backyard, planting seeds and watching them grow into beautiful flowers. There's something so satisfying about seeing the fruits of your labor (literally!) and knowing you had a hand in creating something amazing.

But anyway, back to Pinduoduo... I mean, have you ever noticed how some apps can just sense when you're low on storage space? Like, it's like they have a sixth sense or something 🤯! It's always good to get a heads up when your phone is running out of room.
 
omg u gotta wonder how did this happen? 🤔 how can a company have so much power and influence but also be so reckless with people's personal info? 🤕 its not just about pinduoduo tho, its about the whole chinese tech industry and how they operate. dont get me wrong, i think china has a lot to offer in terms of innovation and growth, but when it comes to data protection and cybersecurity, they need to step up their game 💻💪
 
🤖 This is so messed up! I mean, come on, a company that's supposed to be trusted to manage your personal info can't even get it right? 🙄 The fact that regulators in China are just sitting back and not doing anything about this is wild. It's like they're saying "oh, we don't really know how coding works" 😂.

I think what's even more concerning is that Pinduoduo knew about the malware and did nothing until it was too late to fix it. That's some serious neglect on their part. 🤦‍♂️ And now that they've fixed the problem, it's still possible for the underlying code to come back? That's just not good enough.

I'm all for giving companies a chance to grow and learn from their mistakes, but this is just ridiculous. We need better oversight of these tech giants, especially when it comes to data protection. It's our personal info we're talking about here! 🤝
 
OMG u guys I'm literally SHAKING rn 😱 this is soooo concerning the fact that a major chinese e-commerce company like pinduoduo can just leave malware in their app and not even bother to fix it is just mind-blowing 🤯

i mean think about it if someone with malicious intentions were able to access all that info on your phone or account that's like a recipe for disaster 📦 the whole point of having data protection laws is to prevent this kind of thing from happening but apparently china's regulators are just not doing their job 💔

it's not just about pinduoduo either it's about the entire tech industry in china where corruption and lack of oversight can lead to some seriously dodgy practices 🤑 i need a bigger say in who regulates these companies before they screw over all us users 😩
 
🤔 this is super concerning, i mean pinduoduo has millions of users and they can't even be bothered to test their app properly? 😒

i don't get why regulators in china are so slow to act on things like this 🕰️ it's not that hard to understand coding and tech stuff, right? 💻 they need to step up their game and start holding these companies accountable for their actions 💪
 
omg this is so bad 🤯 I'm still using my iPhone 6 and it's way more secure than any app on my phone now lol. I mean what's going on in china? they need to step up their game on cybersecurity already 👊. I heard about pinduoduo a few years ago when I was still living in the us, they were just starting out and it seemed so cool that chinese tech was finally catching up. but now this? 🤦‍♂️ it's like they're not even trying to protect their users' info anymore. regulators need to do better, maybe some coding classes or something 😅
 
OMG, sounds like Pinduoduo's app is like a bad boyfriend - it shows up uninvited and steals your secrets 🤦‍♂️! I mean, who needs malware that can access users' locations, contacts, and social network accounts? Not me, that's for sure 😂. And don't even get me started on the fact that regulators in China are like, "Uh, we didn't know coding worked this way?" 🤔 It's time to get tech-savvy, folks! I guess you could say Pinduoduo's malware is just a big fat bug 🐜, and it needs to be squashed ASAP. On the bright side, at least they released an update, so users can pretend like they're more secure than they actually are 😜. Anyway, hope they get their act together and fix those security issues pronto! 👍
 
🤔 this is just another example of chinese companies not taking cybersecurity seriously... i mean, who needs data protection laws when you've got a team of engineers working on malware? 🚨 it's not like they're actually developing anything useful for their users anyway. and regulators in china are just sleepwalking through the whole thing... what's the point of having laws if no one is going to enforce them? 🤷‍♂️
 
OMG, can you believe it? 😂 A company as big as Pinduoduo and they still manage to sneak in some sketchy code 🤣! I mean, who needs a superhero cape when you've got a team of engineers with malware skills 💻😳. But for real though, this is super concerning 🤔. I hope the regulators are like "okay, not again" 😂 and actually do something about it. It's like they're playing a game of "tech whack-a-mole" 🎮, where the mole just keeps coming back no matter how many times you whack it 🙄. We need some serious tech oversight in China ASAP 🔒💻!
 
🚨 This is just so messed up 🤕. I mean, who creates a company app that can just go rogue on users? Like, what's going on in China? 🤔 It's not just the fact that they found malware, but how they knew about it and did nothing. That's like, basic cybersecurity 101, right? 🙄 And now we're left wondering if it was just a one-off mistake or if this is some systemic issue? 😬 The lack of oversight on Chinese tech companies is super concerning. Can't even trust their own apps anymore! 💔
 
man I'm like totally worried about this 😩 Pinduoduo's got some serious issues to deal with - first off, they're supposed to be protecting users' info, but instead they're exploiting it 🤯 like who does that? And now regulators are just chillin' while people get hurt 💔 China's data protection laws were introduced in 2021 and I'm pretty sure they're a good thing, but if the government can't even enforce them then what's the point? 🤷‍♀️ we need more transparency and accountability from these companies, stat! 💪
 
🤔 this is so worrisome, I mean i know china's got its own laws and all but it's just weird that regulators are still not on top of these things...i think what bothers me most is that pinduoduo basically created this malware themselves & now they're just sitting back waiting for someone to exploit it? 🤦‍♂️ shouldn't be that hard to catch, especially with the laws in place. idk man, just another example of how tech companies can get away with stuff if the right people aren't paying attention...
 
🚨 This is getting crazy! I mean, who develops malware in their own app? 🤯 A team of engineers and product managers should know better than to mess with users' personal info! 👀 The fact that regulators in China are sleeping on this one is just wild. I've been saying it for a while now, more oversight is needed for those Chinese tech giants. It's not like they're playing by the rules already... 😒 And what's up with these laws being introduced in 2021 and nobody knows how to enforce them? 🤔 Pinduoduo needs to step up their game and show us they can be trusted with our data. 💸 Until then, I'll be keeping a close eye on this one... 👀
 
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