Reported that Yandex's smartphone SDK, also known as 'Google in Russia,' can send data from millions of users to Russia.



It has become clear that the software development kit (SDK) created by

Yandex , Russia's largest Internet company, also known as 'Google in Russia,' is in a state where it can 'collect user data from smartphones and send it to Russia.' Yandex explains, 'It is impossible to identify an individual and it works the same as each company.'

Russian tech giant Yandex's data harvesting raises security concerns | Financial Times
https://www.ft.com/content/c02083b5-8a0a-48e5-b850-831a3e6406bb

According to the Financial Times of overseas media, user metadata is collected and sent to Russia by the SDK 'AppMetrica' developed and provided by Yandex. SDK is a development kit that can be used by app developers, and AppMetrica is used for many apps such as games, messaging apps, VPN apps, etc., research company Appfigures said, `` The number of downloads of apps with AppMetrica is Hundreds of millions of times worldwide. '

Yandex explains in this regard that 'AppMetrica works just like any other tool.' The company says, 'AppMetrica collects data only if the user consents to use the app. The data includes device information and IP addresses, but it is not personally identifiable and very limited. It is theoretically possible to identify an individual based solely on the data collected, but in reality it is very difficult and impossible for us. '

It has also been pointed out that Yandex may be obliged to submit the collected data to the government under local law, but Yandex said, 'The data submission is done according to a very strict internal process. All requests that do not comply with all relevant procedural and legal requirements will be rejected. We have never provided or been asked to provide information about users of apps that have AppMetrica installed. ' Said.



Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the U.S. Finance Commission, said, 'AppMetrica-installed apps steal sensitive data, threatening U.S. national security and the privacy of Americans and individuals around the world.' He strongly accused Google and Apple of 'not protecting users from this type of app.'

Zack Edwards of the Me2B Alliance, a tech nonprofit organization that investigated this issue, said, 'For those with a high level of security, use an app that sends this kind of data to Russia. Is dangerous and can lead to monitoring of networks etc. '



Related Posts:

in Posted by log1p_kr