Beijing — Experts supported by the Chinese government have discovered a way to identify people who use Apple’s encrypted messaging service AirDrop, the Beijing city government said. AirDrop allows users to send content to nearby Apple devices without an internet connection and is encoded so that it cannot be seen by anyone else.
This service was widely used by participants. Hong Kong democracy demonstration In 2019, the center of China The government finally suppressed.
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Apple also restricted file sharing for iPhone users in China in 2022. protests Opposes the ruling Communist Party’s strict zero-corona policy.
The Beijing Municipal Government Judiciary Bureau announced that experts at Beijing Wangshen Dongjian Judiciary Appraisal Institute in the capital have devised a method to reveal iPhone’s encrypted device logs.
From there, they were able to determine AirDrop users’ phone numbers and email accounts, according to a statement posted Monday on the agency’s website.
The technology “solves the difficult technical problem of sending inappropriate information due to AirDrop’s anonymous trackability.”
This method has also “increased the effectiveness and accuracy of case detection and resolution, and has effectively helped police identify several case suspects.”
The statement did not say whether the technique led to any arrests or convictions.
Apple did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
In late 2022, there were widespread reports that people in China were using AirDrop to spread digital leaflets critical of the government.
The transmission is believed to have been partly inspired by protests in Beijing, where a man held up a banner Demanding the dismissal of President Xi Jinping.
In November of the same year, Apple released an AirDrop update that required Apple smartphone users in China to opt in to receiving files from unknown contacts for 10 minutes before automatically turning off. I meant it. This feature previously had no time limit.
This update makes it virtually impossible to receive unexpected files from strangers.
Apple has long faced criticism for raising awareness. Concessions to China as President Xi tightens repression.
Beijing enacted sweeping national security laws In Hong Kong in 2020, The public’s opposition was almost suppressed. In a former British colony.