The article reports on the discovery of malware in Pinduoduo's shopping app, which was designed to exploit vulnerabilities in Android devices. The malware allowed the company to access users' sensitive information, including locations, contacts, calendars, notifications, and social network accounts.
According to experts, the malware was discovered by cybersecurity firms in late February, and a report published at that time named Pinduoduo as the company behind the malicious app. However, regulators in China did not take action against the company, despite the fact that the malware would be a clear violation of the country's data protection laws.
The article suggests that the failure to act by Chinese regulators is due to a lack of understanding about technology and coding among regulatory officials. A cybersecurity expert with 1.8 million followers on Weibo wrote in a viral post that "none of our regulators can understand coding and programming, nor do they understand technology."
As a result of the discovery, Pinduoduo's team of engineers and product managers who developed the malware was disbanded, and many of its members were transferred to work on other projects. However, experts warn that even if the malware is removed from the app, it could be reactivated in the future.
The article also raises questions about the effectiveness of China's regulatory framework for protecting user data and preventing cyber threats. With Pinduoduo's case, regulators are supposed to check apps like this but failed to detect them before they were widely known.
According to experts, the malware was discovered by cybersecurity firms in late February, and a report published at that time named Pinduoduo as the company behind the malicious app. However, regulators in China did not take action against the company, despite the fact that the malware would be a clear violation of the country's data protection laws.
The article suggests that the failure to act by Chinese regulators is due to a lack of understanding about technology and coding among regulatory officials. A cybersecurity expert with 1.8 million followers on Weibo wrote in a viral post that "none of our regulators can understand coding and programming, nor do they understand technology."
As a result of the discovery, Pinduoduo's team of engineers and product managers who developed the malware was disbanded, and many of its members were transferred to work on other projects. However, experts warn that even if the malware is removed from the app, it could be reactivated in the future.
The article also raises questions about the effectiveness of China's regulatory framework for protecting user data and preventing cyber threats. With Pinduoduo's case, regulators are supposed to check apps like this but failed to detect them before they were widely known.