UC Browser data leak: Govt intensifies crackdown on Chinese tech companies
UC Browser is one of the most popular mobile browsers in
Asia. More specifically, the browser holds approximately 50% of the mobile
browser market and has almost 100 million users from India every single month.
The figures show that the Chinese based product is pretty successful in India.
However, success may sometimes attract not-so-bright things
as well. Recently the Indian government had stated its suspicions regarding the
data leak issue UC Browser might have. This is part of the reason why the
Indian government has decided to run some tests and see if the problem
threatens to endanger the people or violates their rights.
Thus, India intensifies its safety measures especially when
it comes to Chinese companies that have considerable success in the country.
Some of the targeted Chinese companies and products are: Xiaomi, UC
Browser, Lenovo, Gionee, Vivo and Oppo
and also bigger companies such as iPhone and Samsung.
Because the Chinese companies managed to take control over
75% of the market, the government has decided that this is a mandatory measure
in order to ensure the safety of the devices and the personal data.
Being suspected of leaking important and personal data, the
following companies: Samsung, Micromax, Oppo, Apple and Vivo didn’t want to
respond to the mails in which they were asked what was their opinion regarding
the government decision.
Indians are concerned that the Chinese are collecting info
through chip sets. Their government has the same fear as the people. Ravinder
Zutshi, a Samsung India former deputy managing director, claims that this is
the Indian government’s perfect way of making sure that the important data will
stay within the borders of the country and won’t be sent to China. This is also
the opinion of Anshul Gupta, the research director at Gartner Inc from Mumbai,
who agrees that apps and other devices aren’t really 100% trustworthy.
