Security concerns: Lithuania warns of Chinese smartphones

Do Huawei and Xiaomi smartphones have security gaps and built-in censorship options? Such allegations by the Lithuanian government have also alarmed German politicians – and the consequences on the stock market.

A warning from the Lithuanian government about security gaps and built-in censorship functions in Chinese smartphones triggered political reactions in Germany as well.

According to the state center for cybersecurity in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, the security risks were identified during an investigation of 5G smartphones from the manufacturers Huawei and Xiaomi. Two of them are linked to pre-installed apps, the other two carry the risk of losing personal data and possible restrictions on freedom of expression, said the Ministry of Defense’s authority.

Xiaomi shares in the red

The SPD politician Jens Zimmermann was concerned. “The discoveries by the authorities in Lithuania are alarming,” said the digital-political spokesman for his parliamentary group in the “Handelsblatt”. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) must now follow up on the information quickly and assess the extent of the risk. The CDU digital politician Tankred Schipanski also spoke out in favor of this. The warning also had consequences for the evil one: Xiaomi shares have since fallen by almost five percent.

According to the Lithuanian authority, the examined Xiaomi device has the technical ability to censor downloaded content. It could recognize and block terms like “Free Tibet”, “Long live Taiwan’s independence” or “democracy movement”, the statement said. This function is deactivated for cell phones sold in Europe, but can be switched on remotely at any time.

With Huawei phones there are concerns in connection with the official app store, which redirects to unsafe providers, it said. In contrast, no security gaps were discovered in devices from competitor OnePlus, which belongs to the Chinese electronics group BKK via its mother, Oppo.

Minister recommends disposal

“Our recommendation is not to buy new Chinese phones and get rid of those already bought as soon as possible,” said Deputy Defense Minister Margiris Abukevicius when presenting the report.

Xiaomi in particular has been able to expand its market share significantly in the recent past, overtaking Apple in the process. Xiaomi had benefited from the sanctions imposed by the US government under ex-President Donald Trump, through which Huawei had lost access to Google’s services. Huawei responded by presenting its own operating system.

Huawei rejected the allegations. “User data is never processed outside of the Huawei device,” said the Lithuanian representative of the Chinese tech group. A spokesman for Xaomi also said that his company adheres to the data protection rules in the European Union: “Xiaomi has and will never restrict or prevent the personal activities of its smartphone users.”

Political conflict

According to the Lithuanian authority, the three manufacturers were selected for the study because cybersecurity risks in their products had been identified in public databases. In the Baltic states, around 200 public authorities have purchased cell phones from companies with the fast 5G cellular standard.

Relations between Lithuania and China had recently deteriorated. China last month demanded that Lithuania withdraw its ambassador in Beijing and announced that it would call back its ambassador in Vilnius. Taiwan had previously announced that it would name its diplomatic mission in Lithuania “Taiwan Representative Office”.