Just yesterday it was reported that a fairly large number of Android smartphones had been affected by a software called Adups, which according to Kryptowire, the security firm which discovered the software, was sending data from these devices back to servers in China. Th software was at the time, reportedly affecting phones from various different manufacturers, including ZTE, Huawei, and BLU devices. The BLU phones that were affected were fixed through a software update according to the original report following acknowledgement of the issue by BLU, but it wasn’t until today that ZTE had issued a statement themselves, which sought to reassure U.S. customers of ZTE devices that no ZTE phones in the U.S. had been affected by the Adups software.
Now Huawei has also chimed in, issuing an official response on the situation. In Huawei’s official statement, they mention that they “take their customer’s privacy and security very seriously,” following that up by saying that the company who contracted Adups is not an approved supplier and that they have never conducted any form of business with them. With that in mind, it still must raise a little bit of concern for users of devices from any of these manufacturers, but more to the point it serves as nice reminder that customers should only be purchasing their devices through legitimate means, such as official retailers that partner up with companies like Huawei, ZTE, and BLU.
Based on the initial report, the company that was selling these devices where the software was found is a Chinese manufacturer, although the name of the company has so far not been mentioned. This would appear to illustrate, though, that the manufacturer was not Huawei or ZTE, both of which are Chinese manufacturers themselves. As a recap, the Adups software was reportedly sending back data including call logs, text messages, and location to the servers belonging to the Chinese company who contracted Adups, although it was also stated to have been used only for customer support. In light of both the official statements from Huawei and ZTE, the unidentified Chinese manufacturer is not an approved supplier of products, so those who purchased their phones through official retail partners should be in the clear.