China Says It Cracked Apple’s AirDrop Encryption to Track Senders

Name: China Says It Cracked Apple’s AirDrop Encryption to Track Senders
Uploaded: 2024-01-10T19:44:04.000Z
Description: The Chinese authorities claimed they can identify individuals who use Apple’s wireless file-sharing tool to spread content that Beijing considers "inappropriate."

NTD Newsroom

Published: 1/9/2024, 11:33:09 PM EST

The Chinese authorities claimed they can identify individuals who use Apple’s wireless file-sharing tool to spread content that Beijing considers "inappropriate."

Experts had managed to identify the phone number and email address of an AirDrop sending device using logs found on the receiving device, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice said in an article published on Jan. 8. That allows the local police to find “several suspects” who use the iPhone feature to transmit files containing what authorities have referred to as “inappropriate remarks,” according to the agency.

AirDrop, designed to function over short distances, was created as a program reliant on direct connections between phones. By forming a local network of devices without relying on the internet to communicate, AirDrop makes it hard for authorities to regulate “through conventional network monitoring methods,” according to the article.

The file-sharing feature, which is available on iPhones and other Apple devices, has been a critical tool for protesters in both mainland China and Hong Kong to evade censorship and maintain communication. Users cannot review the transmission history, and the recipient’s device may only show the user-defined name of the sender.

The Beijing judicial agency said in the article that experts extracted AirDrop’s encrypted records by analyzing the iPhone's logs. They praised experts from Beijing Wangshendongjian Technology Co. Ltd., a local forensic appraisal institute, for assisting the authorities to “break through technical difficulties of tracing anonymous AirDrops.”

The Epoch Times contacted Apple for comment but did not receive a response as of press time.

iPhone Censorship

AirDrop was used widely as a communication tool during Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests in 2019. Demonstrators deployed the program to bypass China’s so-called Great Firewall, delivering crucial messages to the public and ensuring ongoing communication among themselves.

In late 2022, after protests erupted in Shanghai and other major Chinese cities against Beijing's draconian COVID-19 measures, Apple restricted the sharing feature in the mainland following reports that young demonstrators used the AirDrop function to share images and slogans denouncing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its top leader, Xi Jinping.

On Nov. 9, 2022, Apple released iOS 16.1.1., a new version of its mobile operating system. The tech firm noted that the “update includes bug fixes and security updates and is recommended for all users.” However, Chinese readers of the 9to5Mac noticed a modification in the update specific to iPhones sold in the mainland.

Following the updated operating system, AirDrop can only be configured to receive messages from "everyone" for 10 minutes before switching off. Typically, AirDrop users could choose to receive files from "everyone"—contacts and non-contacts—for an unlimited time. Before the changes were completed, the “everyone” setting could have been turned on permanently on Chinese iPhones.

Apple has stated that the feature was an effort to cut down on spam content sent in crowded areas like malls, and it originally planned to roll out the feature globally starting in 2023.

However, Apple has not offered an explanation as to why it chose China to be the first country with AirDrop restrictions.

China Censorship

For years, Apple kept Chinese customers’ data locally on servers run by a state-owned company, adhering to Beijing's request to keep information within its borders.

Experts have pointed out that this method gives the CCP unfettered access to consumer data. Apple, in response, said that it holds encryption keys to the data stored in those server facilities and “have never compromised the security of our users and their data.”

This local storage means that although the United States has laws against companies sharing data with Chinese authorities, Beijing can demand the data from the server storage company rather than Apple.

Apple has already been subjected to restrictions in China, one of the company’s biggest markets, responsible for nearly 20 percent of the Cupertino-based firm’s revenue.

Multiple media outlets reported last September that Beijing instructed state employees and officials at some government agencies not to use iPhones and other foreign cell phones for work. Local officials from three provinces previously told The Epoch Times that they had already been told not to bring iPhones and foreign cell phones to important meetings. These officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said there were no formal documents regarding that order.

When asked about the reported iPhone ban at a briefing at the time, a Chinese foreign ministry official didn’t directly comment on the issue, saying that phone companies operating in China must adhere to its laws and regulations.

China observers noted that the CCP has long sought to tighten control over its people. The regime has poured massive resources into constructing a nationwide surveillance system, clamping down on both domestic and foreign businesses, and penalizing individuals perceived as threats to national security. The money the Chinese authorities spent on policing the whole society has surpassed its national defense budget under Xi, according to Nikkei Asia’s analysis based on official data.

Andrew Moran, Catherine Yang, and Lear Zhou contributed to this report.

From The Epoch Times