Foxconn has come under fire repeatedly, fueled by several worker suicides and threats of suicides, as well as protests and its eventual installation of nets to catch employees who jump from the roof. Because of the criticism, the Chinese manufacturer – which supplies some Apple devices, among others – agreed to over 300 terms set
Tag Archives: Chinese
Foxconn continues to violate Chinese labor laws says report
Posted by Gsurface
on May 18, 2013
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Progress at Foxconn factories, but working hours still exceed Chinese laws
Posted by Gsurface
on May 17, 2013
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Employees at the Chinese factories of Apple supplier Foxconn continue to work beyond the country's legal limit of 49 hours a month, according to a report from the Fair Labor Association (FLA). But the Taiwanese manufacturer is making overall steady progress in improving the working conditions at a select group of factories in China, it said.
Computerworld News
Pentagon Points Finger at Chinese Army Over Computer Attacks
Posted by Gsurface
on May 7, 2013
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A Department of Defense report says that China’s military is infiltrating, and could attack, U.S. government computer networks.
For years now security companies have described that attacks originating in China routinely infiltrate and steal data from U.S. corporate networks, and that similar activity targets U.S. government systems, too. But even as politicians and government officials have begun to speak more freely about the issue (see “U.S. Power Grids, Water Plants a Hacking Target”), they have stopped short of making specific accusations about who is responsible. In April, President Obama’s national security adviser Tom Donilon talked vaguely of attacks “emanating from China.”
Chinese Hackers Infiltrate US Army Database, Compromise Safety of Dams
Posted by Gsurface
on May 3, 2013
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coolnumbr12 writes “Chinese hackers have infiltrated a sensitive U.S. Army database that contains information about the vulnerabilities of thousands of dams located throughout the United States. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ National Inventory of Dams (NID) has raised concerns that information gathered in the hack could help China carry out a cyber-attack on the national electrical power grid.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Skinny Huawei smartphone shows off 6.2mm profile in Chinese certification
Posted by Gsurface
on April 29, 2013
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The FCC isn’t the only agency playing with devices we don’t even know exist, and its Chinese equivalent has recently had some hands-on time with an unknown Huawei smartphone, codename P6-U06. Luckily, there are a few pics and specs to accompany the filing, which tell us it weighs 120g (4.2 ounces) and measures 132.6 x 65.5 x 6.18mm (5.2 x 2.6 x 0.2 inch), meaning it could be one of the super-slim P series handsets a Huawei exec hinted at CES. We didn’t see any evidence of these at MWC, but the same exec promised more was to come in 2013, possibly starting with this P6-U06.
Those dimensions house a 4.7-inch TFT screen at 720p resolution, quad-core 1.5GHz processor, 2GB RAM, an 8-megapixel camera on the back and an unusually large 5-megapixel sensor in the shooter up front. Unsurprisingly, Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean is listed as the OS, while dual-SIM support and GSM / WCDMA radios suggest Asia as the target market (not to mention the Chinese certification). That’s all we’ve got on the P6-U06 for now, but in lieu of official press shots, the handset strikes a couple more candid poses after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: NowhereElse
Possible tomb of Chinese tyrant uncovered
Posted by Gsurface
on April 18, 2013
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Archaeologists have found a tomb in eastern China that may be the grave of the notorious Emperor Yang of Sui, according to news reports
FOX News
Baidu, Hillhouse & GGV Reportedly Invest $57M In Qunar As The Chinese Travel Site Weathers A Boycott
Posted by Gsurface
on April 15, 2013
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Baidu, Hillhouse Capital, and GGV Capital have invested a total of $ 57 million in Chinese travel site Qunar, according to a report by First Financial Daily (link via Google Translate). The news comes as Qunar weathers a boycott by third-party service providers triggered by a change in its operational and pricing policies. South China Morning Post writer Doug Young speculates that Qunar might have hiked its prices in a bid to increase revenue and profits before making its first public filing for an offering.
TechCrunch
Raspberry Pi Production Heats Up In UK Surpassing Chinese Production Soon
Posted by Gsurface
on April 15, 2013
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hypnosec writes “The majority of $ 35 Raspberry Pi production was shifted to a factory in Wales from China and the Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced this week that the factory in Wales has produced its half millionth unit in just over six months. The weekly production has shot up to 40,000 units in the UK factory and that number is ‘set to climb further.’ The Foundation is optimistic about the Welsh factory and said there will be ‘more Made in the U.K. Pis in the world than their Made in China cousins.’ The Foundation didn’t reveal anything else apart from this but, we already know that it sold the millionth Pi back in January.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Chinese daily fooled by spoof that Win 8 glitch forced missile test delay
Posted by Gsurface
on April 13, 2013
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Paper reports as news a quote from a “source” that North Korea’s Kim Jong-un was considering declaring war on Microsoft. [Read more]
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ICANN Says It Will Allow Chinese Top-Level Domain Names This Year, Followed By Other Languages
Posted by Gsurface
on April 11, 2013
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The president of ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) Fady Chehade told the Wall Street Journal that the organization will launch Chinese character options for top-level domains in the second half of this year. (A top-level domain is the part of the Web address after the dot, so the Chinese characters would replace the .com, .net, .org’s, etc. that you see in most Web addresses).
Iranians, Russians, and Chinese Hackers Are After You, Says Lawmaker
Posted by Gsurface
on April 10, 2013
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Velcroman1 writes “The House Intelligence Committee is warning that ‘time is running out’ before the next major cyberattack: The Russians, Iranians, Chinese, and others are likely already on your computer. ‘You have criminal organizations trying to get into your personal computer and steal your personal stuff. And by the way, the Chinese are probably on your computer, the Russians are probably on your personal computer, the Iranians are already there,’ House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers (R.-MI) said. ‘They’re trying to steal things that they think are valuable or use your computer to help them steal from someone else,’ he said. ‘That’s a real problem.’”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Apple bans Chinese bookstore app over ‘illegal content’
Posted by Gsurface
on April 4, 2013
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The company has pulled a bookstore app in China that featured titles deemed “illegal” by the Chinese government. [Read more]
CNET News
Chinese Consumers Scoff At The State-Run Media’s Heavy-Handed Swipes Against Apple
Posted by Gsurface
on March 28, 2013
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Tim Cook has said that China will soon become Apple’s biggest market, but the government is not as besotted as Chinese consumers. China’s state-run media has taken several swipes at Apple this month, moves which may be part of a (heavy-handed) public relations strategy to pave the way for locally grown operating systems as the Chinese government seeks to move its IT industry away from Western software. But if popular response to the anti-Apple articles is anything to go by, Chinese consumers and their iOS devices won’t be so easily parted. Earlier this week, People’s Daily, the Chinese government’s official newspaper, published articles calling Apple’s customer-service practices arrogant. The People’s Daily article followed a story earlier this month by official government press agency Xinhua, which blamed Apple for an increase in high-interest loans taken out by students to buy “fancy electronic products, most Apple devices.” And just a few days prior to the Xinhua story, China Central Television’s investigative program “3.15″ criticized Apple’s warranty practices, saying that the Cupertino company discriminates against Chinese iPhone owners by offering shorter guarantees than in other countries, using refurbished components, and refusing to honor after-sale obligations. China observer Gordon G. Chang wrote in a Forbes opinion piece that “executives in Cupertino should get worried that the 3.15 show is not a one-off.” What’s at stake for the Chinese government is its efforts to decrease dependency on foreign software by upping the profile of locally developed operating systems. Apple is just one of several foreign tech companies targeted by the Chinese government. Earlier this month, for example, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a white paper declaring that China is too reliant on the Android smartphone operating system (though it overstated Google’s power in China). The Chinese government is building its own Ubuntu-based open-source OS in partnership with Canonical and Chinese developers. The Linux-based OS, called “Ubuntu Kylin,” is set for release next month, and a China-specific version of Ubuntu Touch for smartphones and tablets may also be in the works. Most of Huawei and ZTE’s handsets are Android-based, but both Chinese companies are working on their own smartphone operating systems. Huawei Device CEO Wan Biao told Reuters last September that the company is “devoting resources into coming up with a phone operating system based on our current platform in case other companies won’t let us use their system one day.” Though ZTE’s operating system was built with Mozilla, it’s also meant
TechCrunch
Apple lands in Chinese court to battle Siri patent suit
Posted by Gsurface
on March 27, 2013
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With a pre-trial hearing today, the case pits Apple against Zhizhen Network Technology, which claims a patent for the voice recognition software used by Siri. [Read more]
CNET News
Top Chinese university linked to Chinese hacking group
Posted by Gsurface
on March 25, 2013
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Faculty members at one of the top universities in China have been linked to the People’s Liberation Army Unit 61398, the same group that has been accused of hacking several U.S. based companies as well as several media outlets. The university in question, Shanghai Jiaotong University, is a prestigious school known for its successful graduates,
Twitter archive service expands into 12 more languages, includes Chinese, Russian and Japanese
Posted by Gsurface
on March 22, 2013
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Twitter users looking to permanently house their missives in Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and eight other languages have now been given the go-ahead. This third language expansion focuses on the east, although it does add Italian, Turkish and Danish support too. In short, it’s another excuse to celebrate the microblogging network’s seventh compleanno.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Via: Techcrunch
Source: Twitter
Probe shows Chinese address as source of cyberattack in South Korea
Posted by Gsurface
on March 22, 2013
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Former Chinese contractor at NASA’s Langley Research Center faces hearing on lying charges
Posted by Gsurface
on March 21, 2013
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A court hearing is scheduled for a former Chinese contractor at NASA’s Langley Research Center who was arrested on a Beijing-bound plane with hard drives and a laptop.
FOX News
NASA locks out foreigners, orders security review following concerns of Chinese spying
Posted by Gsurface
on March 20, 2013
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A Spy at NASA? FBI investigating Chinese man arrested fleeing country
Posted by Gsurface
on March 19, 2013
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U.S. defense scientist bought pirated software from Russians and Chinese, DOJ says
Posted by Gsurface
on March 19, 2013
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The former chief scientist at a Kentucky defense contractor has been sentenced to a year in prison for buying pirated software from Russian and Chinese hackers and using it to design components for military helicopters.
Computerworld News
US defense scientist bought pirated software from Russians, Chinese, DOJ says
Posted by Gsurface
on March 19, 2013
No comments
The former chief scientist at a Kentucky defense contractor has been sentenced to a year in prison for buying pirated software from Russian and Chinese hackers and using it to design components for military helicopters.
Computerworld News
Chinese Government Suspected of Unleashing Astroturfers Against Apple
Posted by Gsurface
on March 17, 2013
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An anonymous reader writes “A piece attacking Apple’s treatment of Chinese consumers that aired on official government TV last week was followed by a wave of anti-Apple posts on Weibo (China’s equivalent of Twitter) by Chinese celebrities. On the China-watching site Tea Leaf Nation, Liz Carter reports that sharp-eyed Weibo users noticed something funny about one such post from an actor and singer named Peter Ho: ‘Cannot believe Apple is playing so many dirty tricks in customer service. As an Apple fan, I feel hurt…Need to post around 8:20 pm.’ What was this ‘need to post at 8:20 pm’ business? After Weibo lit up with sarcastic tags such as #PostAround820, Ho claimed (rather unconvincingly) that someone must have hacked his account and posted the anti-Apple ‘Weibo’. Mike Elgan at CultOfMac notes a parallel with the Chinese government’s rough handling of Google in 2009, which led to Google’s closing of its mainland operations. Google claimed that government commissioned hackers had apparently stolen search engine source code, Gmail messages and other user data. An earlier article by Elgan on Datamation notes the uneasy business relationship between Apple and China.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Chinese Version Of Samsung Galaxy S IV Apparently Captured In Hands-On Video
Posted by Gsurface
on March 12, 2013
No comments
A video of a device purporting to be the Samsung Galaxy S IV has landed on YouTube. It shows a large handset, initially with the back off and the battery removed, before the battery is inserted, the plastic back snapped on and the phone is turned on. As it boots up, it displays Chinese carrier China Unicom’s Wo logo before loading what appears to be a version of Samsung’s TouchWiz UI.
TechCrunch
Chinese Physicists Measure Speed of “Spooky Action At a Distance”
Posted by Gsurface
on March 7, 2013
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Chinese IT Ministry Looks Askance At Google’s Control of Android
Posted by Gsurface
on March 5, 2013
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itwbennett writes “In what one expert is calling a clear message to China’s tech industry that the authorities want to support a homegrown mobile operating system, China’s tech regulator warns in a white paper that the country is becoming too dependent on Google’s Android OS. ‘Our country’s mobile operating system research and development is heavily reliant on Android,’ reads the white paper from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. ‘Although the Android system currently remains open source, the core technologies and technology roadmap is strictly controlled by Google.’”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Data Espionage Sleuths Aim to Put Chinese Corporations in Court
Posted by Gsurface
on February 26, 2013
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CrowdStrike says it can help U.S. companies identify the companies that benefit from stolen data.
In recent years, computer security companies and even U.S. government officials have alleged that attackers in China and elsewhere routinely steal company secrets from U.S. corporate computers. But tracing the perpetrators of such breaches and showing which companies may have received the data copied is extremely difficult. Now a startup company, CrowdStrike, has developed tools that it says can track attacks in enough detail for victims to publicly accuse those benefiting. The companies can then take legal action or lobby for international trade sanctions.
Chinese hackers seen as increasingly professional, experts say
Posted by Gsurface
on February 25, 2013
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The Chinese Are Coming! The Chinese Are Coming!
Posted by Gsurface
on February 23, 2013
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By now you must have heard of Unit 61398 of the People’s Liberation Army: “an overwhelming percentage of the attacks on American corporations, organizations and government agencies originate in and around [their] white tower,” claims the New York Times, who were themselves recently owned by the 1337 h4ck3r5 of the 61398. And just recently, there were “extremely sophisticated” attacks on Apple, Facebook, and Twitter! Why, those evil Chinese! We can’t just stand by while this happens! The US government has to –
to –
…wait just a minute here.
I don’t know how the NYT defines “overwhelming”, but those Apple/Facebook/Twitter hacks? Those apparently originated in Eastern Europe, a long, long way away from Shanghai. And Chinese hacking? Old, old news. Why, the NYT reported on it–courtesy of Wikileaks–back in 2010:
TechCrunch
Mandiant report on Chinese cyberespionage used as bait in spear-phishing attacks
Posted by Gsurface
on February 22, 2013
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Attackers are using fake versions of a recently released report about a Chinese cyberespionage group as bait in new spear-phishing attacks that target Japanese and Chinese users.
Computerworld News
Exposé of Chinese Data Thieves Reveals Sloppy Tactics
Posted by Gsurface
on February 21, 2013
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A report on the Chinese group that breached the computers of U.S. companies reveals that they took few precautions against detection.
A beige office block in Shanghai’s suburbs belonging to the Chinese army became world famous on Tuesday after Mandiant, a Washington-based computer security company, released a 60-page report alleging that it houses a group routinely stealing information from U.S. companies. While there’s no direct proof that the Chinese army sponsors the campaign, one thing the report makes clear is that the people carrying it out weren’t the slickest of operators.
Chinese military linked to advanced hacking group targeting US companies
Posted by Gsurface
on February 19, 2013
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Chinese Army linked to hacks of U.S. companies, agencies
Posted by Gsurface
on February 19, 2013
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Security researcher hired by New York Times says “overwhelming percentage” of hacks originate from a 12-story building in Shanghai associated with the Chinese military. [Read more]
CNET News
Evidence implicates Chinese government in hacking attacks against U.S.
Posted by Gsurface
on February 19, 2013
No comments
You’ll have to be living under a rock to have missed the hoopla this year about alleged Chinese hackers attacking – and sometimes infiltrating – American media companies and other such businesses. The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal have all stated this year that they were the target of attacks that
How a Chinese Hacker Tried To Blackmail Me
Posted by Gsurface
on February 10, 2013
No comments
An anonymous reader writes “Slate provides the first-person account of a CEO who received an e-mail with several business documents attached threatening to distribute them to competitors and business partners unless the CEO paid $ 150,000. ‘Experts I consulted told me that the hacking probably came from government monitors who wanted extra cash,’ writes the CEO, who successfully ended the extortion with an e-mail from the law firm from the bank of his financial partner, refusing payment and adding that the authorities had been notified. According to the article, IT providers routinely receive phone calls from their service providers if they detect any downtime on the monitors of network traffic installed by the Chinese government, similar to the alerts provided to telecom providers about VoIP fraud on their IP-PBX switches. ‘Hundreds of millions of Chinese operate on the Internet without any real sense of privacy, fully aware that a massive eavesdropping apparatus tracks their every communication and move…’ writes the CEO. ‘With China’s world and ours intersecting online, I expect we’ll eventually wonder how we could have been so naive to have assumed that privacy was normal- or that breaches of it were news.’”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Chinese Blogger Becomes Celebrity Exposing Corruption
Posted by Gsurface
on February 7, 2013
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hackingbear writes “The New York Times reports the story of a Chinese blogger named Zhu Ruifeng who has become an overnight celebrity in China. He posted a secretly recorded video of an 18-year-old woman having sex with a 57-year-old official from the southwestern municipality of Chongqing. The official, along with 10 others, lost their jobs and are now under investigation. Mr. Zhu says ordinary citizens have come to rely on the Internet for retribution, even if it often amounts to mob justice. ‘We used to say that when you have a problem, go to the police,’ he said. ‘Now we say when you have a problem, go to the netizens.’ He has become a litmus test of how committed China’s new leaders are in their battle against corruption — and whether they can tolerate populist crusaders like Mr. Zhu.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Wall Street Journal says it too was hit by Chinese hackers
Posted by Gsurface
on February 1, 2013
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The Wall Street Journal said Thursday it had been targeted by hackers trying to monitor the newspaper's coverage of China, less than a day after a similar revelation from its competitor The New York Times.
Computerworld News
Wall Street Journal Hit By Chinese Hackers, Too
Posted by Gsurface
on February 1, 2013
No comments
wiredmikey writes “The Wall Street Journal said Thursday its computers were hit by Chinese hackers, the latest U.S. media organization citing an effort to spy on its journalists covering China. The Journal made the announcement a day after The New York Times said hackers, possibly connected to China’s military, had infiltrated its computers in response to its expose of the vast wealth amassed by a top leader’s family. The Journal said in a news article that the attacks were ‘for the apparent purpose of monitoring the newspaper’s China coverage’ and suggest that Chinese spying on U.S. media ‘has become a widespread phenomenon.’”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Chinese Hack New York Times
Posted by Gsurface
on January 31, 2013
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Rick Zeman writes “According to a headline article in the New York Times, they admit to being hacked by the Chinese, and covers the efforts of Mandiant to investigate, and then to eradicate their custom Advanced Persistent Threats (APT). This was alleged to be in reaction to an article which details the sleazy business dealings of the family of Wen Jiabao, China’s newest Prime Minister. China’s Ministry of National Defense said in denial, ‘Chinese laws prohibit any action including hacking that damages Internet security.’”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The New York Times says its computer networks were repeatedly hacked by Chinese
Posted by Gsurface
on January 31, 2013
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Chinese hackers said to wage cyberwar on The New York Times
Posted by Gsurface
on January 31, 2013
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Unusual activity was seen in the paper’s computer systems during a probe on China’s prime minister. The Times then discovered that the corporate passwords for every employee had been stolen. [Read more]
CNET News
Apple sheds light on Chinese iPhone assemblers
Posted by Gsurface
on January 28, 2013
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Unemployed Chinese Graduates Say No Thanks To Factory Jobs
Posted by Gsurface
on January 26, 2013
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hackingbear writes “While people and politicians are pitching for more educations and reviving manufacturing in this country, jobs go begging in factories while many college educated young workers, which now number 11 times more than in 1989, are unemployed or underemployed in China. A national survey of urban residents, released this winter by a Chinese university, showed that among people in their early 20s, those with a college degree were four times as likely to be unemployed as those with only an elementary school education. Yet, it is not about the pay. Many factories are desperate for workers, despite offering double-digit annual pay increases and improved benefits, while an office job would initially pay as little as a third of factory wages. The glut of college graduates is eroding wages even for those with more marketable majors, like computer science. Vocational schools and training programs are unpopular because they suffer from a low statue of for people from unsuccessful, poor, or peasant backgrounds.”The more educated people are, the less they want to work in a factory,” said an unemployed graduate. If we do succeed bringing back factory jobs, are their enough people want them?”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Chinese Government To Open Mediation Center For Online Piracy Disputes
Posted by Gsurface
on January 23, 2013
No comments
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) plans to establish a center that will deal with disputes over intellectual property (IP) and online copyright issues, reports Sina Tech (link via Google Translate).
TechCrunch
Chinese Physicists Build “Ghost” Cloaking Device
Posted by Gsurface
on January 22, 2013
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Apple online store lets Chinese buy on a 2-year plan, puts iPads within reach
Posted by Gsurface
on January 16, 2013
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Apple has repeatedly stressed that China is important to its bottom line, but it faces a dilemma given the premium associated with its name: when it can take weeks’ worth of typical pay to buy an iOS device, let alone a Mac, many locals either have to save up or else turn to alternatives. The company may not have truly low-cost devices — at least, not yet — but it is offering an olive branch in the form of installment plans. Chinese who order from the online Apple Store with a China Merchants Bank credit card can now buy virtually anything priced between ¥300 and ¥30,000 ($ 48 to $ 4,821) using up to 24 payments spread over two years. Much like in other countries, there’s higher additional fees the longer the installments carry on. The strategy only helps a certain segment of the population for whom the up-front cost is the lone obstacle; that may be enough in the near future, though, given that there’s still significant demand.
[Image credit: Sina Tech]
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple
Via: Bloomberg
Source: Apple (translated)
Chinese Smartphone Invasion Begins
Posted by Gsurface
on January 11, 2013
No comments
snydeq writes “Tech giants Apple, Google, and Microsoft were no-shows at CES this week in Las Vegas, which worked out just fine for Chinese vendors looking to establish a name for themselves with U.S. consumers. ‘Telecom suppliers Huawei and ZTE, in particular, have set their sights on breaking into the U.S. market for smartphones and tablets. … Whether these Chinese imports can take on the likes of Apple and Samsung remains to be seen, but as Wired quotes Jeff Lotman, the CEO of Global Icons, an agency that helps companies build and license their brands: “The thing that’s amazing is these are huge companies, and they have a lot of power, but in the United States nobody has heard of them and they’re having trouble gaining traction, but it’s not impossible. Samsung was once known for making crappy, low-end phones and cheap TVs. Now they’re seen as a top TV and smartphone brand.”‘”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Foxconn Confirms Bribery Investigation After Chinese Authorities Detain Employee
Posted by Gsurface
on January 10, 2013
No comments
Foxconn, the Taiwan-based electronics manufacturing giant that works with companies like Apple, Samsung, and Sony, has confirmed that it is being investigated on charges of bribery by Chinese authorities. At least one of the Foxconn’s employees has been detained after being accused of accepting bribes from suppliers.
TechCrunch
Chinese Telecom Giant Huawei Accused Of Offering Embargoed HP Equipment To Iranian Companies
Posted by Gsurface
on December 31, 2012
No comments
Chinese telecommunications manufacturing giant Huawei is once again in hot water over allegedly playing loose with trade sanctions. One of Huawei Technologies key Iranian partners reportedly offered to sell embargoed HP computer equipment to Iran’s largest mobile-phone operator in late 2010, according to documents unearthed by Reuters.
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