TOTALAV APP UPDATE
Although Baidu Maps currently remains unavailable to download via Google Play, a resubmitted, benign update of Baidu Search Box has been globally available since November 19, 2020. (Baidu, put simply, is China’s version of Google).
TOTALAV APP ANDROID
Furthermore, the leaked data could be exploited for the means of intercepting phone calls and or text messages.Ī range of Android apps were discovered that allowed the aforementioned forms of data leakage, with the two most notable being Baidu Maps and Baidu Search Box. The researchers went on to state that cyber criminals could use a phone’s IMEI number to report a phone as stolen, which could lead to a carrier blocking access to the network. “For example, if a user switches their SIM card to a new phone and installs an application that previously collected and transmitted the IMSI number, the app developer is able to uniquely identify that user.” The researchers’ post warned that Android applications that harvest such forms of data can track users over the lifetime of many devices. These identifiers can be used to locate and track users on cellular networks. IMSIs uniquely identify a subscriber to a cellular network and are commonly associated with a phone’s SIM card which is device-transferrable. The IMEI refers to a unique identifier of the physical device and denotes data including hardware specs and manufacturing dates. “While some of this information, such as screen resolution, is rather harmless, data such as the IMSI can be used to uniquely identify and track a user, even if that user switches to a different phone and takes the number,” Palo Alto Networks Unit 42’s researchers explained in a website post. It was discovered that the apps expose a plethora of data such as device model, screen resolution, wireless carrier, Android ID, phone MAC address, network type, IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity), and IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity). The offending apps have received millions of downloads, according to Palo Alto Networks Unit 42’s team, but despite having now been removed from Google Play, any users running the apps could still find themselves at risk. Numerous Android apps within the Google Play store, such as Baidu Maps and Baidu Search Box, have been found to leak data that could be used to track users (even if they switch devices), cyber security researchers have reported.
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