The report states that Qualcomm uploaded private user data, including IP addresses, to servers belonging to the company “without users’ consent and unencrypted, even “while using Google-less Android distributions.” A Qualcomm spokesman refuted all of the allegations in its report.

“This article is riddled with inaccuracies and the authors appear to have written this report with the intent of marketing their products. Qualcomm only collects personal information as permitted by applicable law. As disclosed in our publicly available Privacy Policy As stated, related Qualcomm technologies use depersonalized, anonymized technical data to enable device manufacturers to provide their customers with the location-based applications and services that end users have come to expect from today’s smartphones.”

Source: Pixabay

Nitrokey researcher Paul Privacy claimed that, in addition to concerns about unauthorized access, the packets were sent over the HTTP protocol and were not encrypted using HTTPS, SSL, or TLS, making them vulnerable.

In this regard, a Qualcomm spokesperson explained that all Qualcomm chips currently rely on HTTPS for communication exchanges, and Qualcomm has no longer used HTTP since 2016. This means that if you’re using fairly new equipment, aeronautical mobile satellite communications (AMSS communications) are at least immune to man-in-the-middle attacks.

A former mobile industry executive familiar with Qualcomm’s technology told The Register that “describing AMSS as a secret operating system is a complete nonsense”, but it is difficult for ordinary people to really understand what happens at the base level in mobile phones. He noted that all of the chipset makers, including Huawei, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Apple “will have all sorts of different acquisitions [over the web] by any of these companies.”

In addition to this, Martijn Braam, a core developer of postmarketOS for Alpine-Linux, also published an article refuting the research as empty marketing. He pointed out that the HTTP communication initiated by Qualcomm does not contain any private data. “It just downloads the GPS almanac from Qualcomm for A-GPS [Assisted GPS]”.

Qualcomm Location Service (formerly known as IZat Location Services or IZat) is an optional service. It works by periodically downloading data about the location of nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi access points to the phone, using sensors such as gyroscopes and accelerometers to help with location calculations and reduce power consumption.

“Qualcomm Location Services periodically sends us a unique software ID, your device’s location (longitude, latitude, altitude and its uncertainty), nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi hotspots, signal strength and time (collectively referred to as ‘ location data’),” Qualcomm’s website reads, “As with any Internet communication, we also receive the IP address used by your device.”

This is also one of the reasons why many users complain that they are collected user information by App across platforms. If you don’t want to be tracked by big data to your digital footprint, I’m afraid you have to stop using your phone. For some users, they don’t care so much about light privacy scenarios, so some users will choose to trade privacy for convenience.

The post Qualcomm responds to collecting user IP and other data: Only collects personal information when permitted by applicable laws appeared first on TechGoing.

To update to MIUI 13 with the latest security update, Xiaomi users can head to About Phone > MIUI Version > Check for Updates to get the latest protection against the dark arts.

A quick refresher: the Redmi K30S Ultra is a rebranded Xiaomi Mi 10T device for the Chinese market, launched 2 years ago. It came with the flagship Snapdragon 865 SoC, a  flagship-grade IPS LCD display with a 144Hz refresh rate, a 5000mAh battery, and a 64MP + 13MP + 5MP camera setup.

The Snapdragon 865 chipset was also included in the Mi 10 Pro, although the battery capacity was reduced to 4500 mAh. The screen has a maximum brightness of 500 nits and runs at 90 Hz on a Super AMOLED panel. 108MP, 12MP, and 8MP cameras round out the package.

Perhaps in the future, more models will be supported by these updates.

Source:

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The post Major Android security updates are coming to the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro and Redmi K30S Ultra. appeared first on TechGoing.