The article reports on the discovery of malware in Pinduoduo's app, a Chinese shopping giant, which was first raised by a cybersecurity firm called Dark Navy. The malware allowed the company to access users' locations, contacts, calendars, notifications, and photo albums without their consent.
Pinduoduo removed the exploits from its app in late February after reports of the issue spread among other researchers who had identified them. However, the underlying code was still present in the updated version of the app.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which is responsible for regulating Pinduoduo, was criticized for not detecting the malware. The tech policy expert Kendra Schaefer stated that this would be "embarrassing" for the regulator, as it's their job to check for such issues.
Pinduoduo has been able to grow its user base despite the regulatory clampdown on Big Tech in China. However, some cybersecurity experts questioned why regulators haven't taken action against the company.
The article highlights the importance of oversight and regulation in the tech industry, particularly in countries with emerging economies like China. It also raises questions about the ability of regulators to keep up with the rapid pace of technological advancements.
Some key takeaways from the article include:
* Pinduoduo's app was found to contain malware that allowed it to access users' sensitive information without their consent.
* The company removed the exploits from its app in late February after reports of the issue spread among other researchers.
* The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which is responsible for regulating Pinduoduo, was criticized for not detecting the malware.
* Some cybersecurity experts questioned why regulators haven't taken action against Pinduoduo despite the discovery of the malware.
Overall, the article provides insight into the importance of oversight and regulation in the tech industry, particularly in countries with emerging economies like China.
Pinduoduo removed the exploits from its app in late February after reports of the issue spread among other researchers who had identified them. However, the underlying code was still present in the updated version of the app.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which is responsible for regulating Pinduoduo, was criticized for not detecting the malware. The tech policy expert Kendra Schaefer stated that this would be "embarrassing" for the regulator, as it's their job to check for such issues.
Pinduoduo has been able to grow its user base despite the regulatory clampdown on Big Tech in China. However, some cybersecurity experts questioned why regulators haven't taken action against the company.
The article highlights the importance of oversight and regulation in the tech industry, particularly in countries with emerging economies like China. It also raises questions about the ability of regulators to keep up with the rapid pace of technological advancements.
Some key takeaways from the article include:
* Pinduoduo's app was found to contain malware that allowed it to access users' sensitive information without their consent.
* The company removed the exploits from its app in late February after reports of the issue spread among other researchers.
* The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which is responsible for regulating Pinduoduo, was criticized for not detecting the malware.
* Some cybersecurity experts questioned why regulators haven't taken action against Pinduoduo despite the discovery of the malware.
Overall, the article provides insight into the importance of oversight and regulation in the tech industry, particularly in countries with emerging economies like China.
just thinking about this is giving me the heebie jeebies... gotta hand it to Dark Navy for spotting that malware first, but seriously though, how did the Ministry of Industry and Info Tech even miss that? 
i mean, thats what they're supposed to be doing right? overseeing these companies to make sure they dont get too out of control... its like, whats next? are we gonna see a whole bunch of other companies with malware in their apps? 
gotta stay vigilant here, you know?
... like what if users had reported it first? 
. And can we talk about how Pinduoduo just kinda swept this under the rug and then released an updated version with the same code still present? 
It's like they're more worried about growing their user base than actually fixing the problems. We need better oversight in tech, especially in countries where regulations are getting watered down 
.
and i was thinking it's weird how it kept asking me to allow access to my location and contacts but i didn't think much of it at that time 
now im glad someone reported the issue because it's just not right that they can access all that personal info without us knowing 
i feel bad for all those ppl who might have already shared sensitive info with pinduoduo and dont even know it 
anyway its good to see them fixin the issues but like why didnt the regulators catch this sooner? 
this is getting crazy! a chinese shopping giant gets caught with malware that lets it access users' personal info without consent... and nobody saw it coming? 
like, it's not exactly rocket science to detect malware... or is it? 
Kendra Schaefer is right, this would be a major fail for the regulator. And honestly, I'm surprised Pinduoduo was able to grow its user base without getting taken down sooner.