[...] The online retailing giant told CNET that it was suspending sales of phones from Blu, known for making ultra-cheap handsets, due to a "potential security issue."
The move comes after security firm Kryptowire demonstrated last week how software in Blu's phones collected data and sent it to servers in China without alerting people. Blu defended the software, created by a Chinese company called Shanghai Adups Technology, and denied any wrongdoing. A company spokeswoman said at the time it "has several policies in place which take customer privacy and security seriously." She added there had been no breaches.
[...] "Because security and privacy of our customers is of the utmost importance, all BLU phone models have been made unavailable for purchase on Amazon.com until the issue is resolved," Amazon said in a statement.
[...] Blu was one of the key participants in Amazon's "Prime Exclusive Phones" program, which offered steep discounts on phones to its members in exchange for ads on their lockscreen. Blu is no longer listed on the page.
Blu cited Krytopwire executive Tom Karygiannis as saying the company didn't do anything wrong, although Karygiannis later told CNET that he didn't authorize Blu to make a public statement on his behalf. He confirmed that he spoke to Amazon to give the retailer data on his findings.
Previously:
BLU Phones Secretly Sent Personal Data to China
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 5, Insightful) by MrGuy on Tuesday August 01 2017, @03:11PM (6 children)
When are they going to suspend sales of every other smartphone manufactured today?
Today's smartphones are mobile surveillance platforms. And if you think it makes a dime's bit of difference if the one who's stealing all your personal data is AT&T instead of the PRC, then I have some bad news for you.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by RamiK on Tuesday August 01 2017, @03:56PM (5 children)
Sure there's a difference. The PRC has very little opportunity to exploit your personal information since you live outside their jurisdiction. They also won't sell your information on the open market since they don't want foreign agencies to know the extent of their data gathering capabilities.
On the other hand, AT&T will gladly sell all your personal data to the highest bidder regardless if it's governments, advertising companies, credit companies or criminal organizations.
compiling...
(Score: 2) by nobu_the_bard on Tuesday August 01 2017, @04:04PM (4 children)
You're right, I'm sure the PRC will do nothing with your data at all. They'll just vacuum it up and put it in a data center somewhere forever and never look at it or show it to anyone ever for any reason. Yep.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 01 2017, @04:45PM
Well, it is true that they don't pose nearly as much of a threat to you as your own government.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 01 2017, @06:03PM
What's more likely, for an insect to die at the hand of a man, or at the hands of an insectivore? China just doesn't care about you. You're not even a flee. You're an ant on their neighbor's back porch.
Unless you have major business in that part of the world, they just won't bother even if they have something on you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 02 2017, @02:42AM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 02 2017, @07:19AM
Maybe it's useful for setting a baseline for "normal"