Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Apple
    • Apple
    • Cybersecurity
    • Mobile

    Chinese Media Calls Apple iPhone a National Security Threat

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    July 11, 2014
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Chinese state media has labeled the Apple iPhone a threat to national security, Reuters reported June 11.

      In a television report, state-owned broadcaster CCTV said the iPhone’s Frequent Locations feature could reveal too much about users, making it possible for them to be tracked. A researcher interviewed by CCTV remarked that the feature could even lay bare “state secrets.”

      “I don’t think any Chinese official thinks that Apple’s ‘Frequent Locations’ tracking is a real threat. If they did, they’d do a lot more than complain about it in the press,” Ezra Gottheil, principal analyst with Technology Business Research (TBR), told eWEEK.

      “It’s impossible to tell if this is the Chinese equivalent of press sensationalism or some attempt to weaken Apple sales in favor of Chinese device vendors,” Gottheil added.

      The Chinese government recently told several state-owned wireless carriers, including China Mobile—the largest carrier in the world, with more than a billion subscribers—to cut spending on subsidies and advertising by the equivalent of $6.4 billion within three years, according to a July 8 Bloomberg report. It added that the Chinese government believes too much is being spent to promote high-end devices such as the iPhone.

      As the name suggests, the Frequent Locations feature stores, on the phone, locations that users visit often. Apple says this information is not sent to the company.

      “The information makes the iPhone more useful,” said Gottheil, “but it certainly could be abused. I believe Apple does not access the data, but it could be hacked. We are faced with many tradeoffs between privacy and convenience or security.”

      Apple offered no immediate response to the report.

      Apple In China

      China, now the world’s largest smartphone market, represents an enormous opportunity for Apple, which only began selling the iPhone with China Mobile in January. Like rival Samsung, however, it’s finding it no simple matter to compete against China-based brands with loyal followings.

      Xiaomi, for example—which made headlines last summer when Google’s head of Android product management, Hugo Barra, left to play a major role at the Chinese phone maker—enjoyed 271 percent growth year-over-year, it announced earlier this month. During the whole of 2013, Xiaomi sold 18.7 million phones, catapulting it ahead of Apple, Coolpad and Huawei.

      During the month of April, the top-selling phone in China was the Xiaomi Redmi, followed by the iPhone 4S and then the iPhone 5S, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research. Samsung’s Note 3 was the number-four top seller, followed by the Xiaomi MI3.

      ABI Research, in a springtime report, said vendors such as Apple should expect to soon enough also compete with these Chinese brands in markets around the world, including the United States. Lenovo, for example, a market leader in China—which held a 12 percent share of China’s smartphone market in the first quarter, behind only Samsung, with an 18 percent share—made clear with its acquisition of Motorola that it intends to expand beyond its home turf.

      Follow Michelle Maisto on Twitter.

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×