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The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense has warned consumers against using Chinese-made mobile phones and asked them to remove them.
Based on a report by the National Cyber Information Center, researchers have found that “Xiaomi” phones contain censorship software and that Huawei phones are vulnerable to electronic attacks.
Huawei management said it would not send data to third parties.
“We recommend not buying new Chinese phones and discarding old ones as soon as possible,” said Margros Apocavius, Lithuania’s deputy defense minister.
Xiaomi phones found Mi 10T 5GIt has programs that can recognize expressions such as “independent Tibet”, “Taiwan’s independence can live long”, and “democratic movement”.
The report points to 449 language applications that can be censored in Xiaomi phone applications, including Internet browsers.
This feature has been disabled on these phones in Europe, but the report says that it can be restarted remotely at any time.
Shawmi has not yet responded to the BBC’s request for comment.
The report also found that Xiaomi devices transfer encrypted data to a server in Singapore.
“This is important not only for Lithuania, but for all countries that use Shawmi devices,” the National Cyber Information Center said.
Xiaomi has grown significantly in popularity due to its affordable equipment, recording a 64 percent increase in the company’s revenue in the second year compared to the previous year.
Gaps
The report points out the damage to Huawei’s P40 5G phones, making users vulnerable to cyber attacks.
“Huawei Applications website official website leads users to third-party online stores. Scrutiny has revealed that some applications contain malicious or cyber viruses,” said a statement from the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense and the National Center for Cyber Security.
A Huawei spokesman told the BBC that the company complies with the laws of the countries where it operates and prioritizes cybersecurity and privacy.
“Data is not processed outside of the device. Huawei ensures that the apps that users are trying to download are safe.
He tested another device using the 5G network built by OnePlus and found no problems with the device.
The report comes at a time when relations between Lithuania and China are deteriorating. Last month, China asked Lithuania to withdraw its ambassador, saying it would withdraw its ambassador from the Lithuanian capital.
Disagreements between the two countries began when Taiwan announced that the name of their representative in Lithuania would be “Taiwanese Representative Office”.
Taiwanese embassies and delegations in Europe and the United States use the name Taipei as the capital, and to avoid mentioning the island as a country, China considers it part of its territory.
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