Almost a Third of World's Top VPNs Are Secretly Owned By Chinese Firms, Study Finds (computerweekly.com) 89
SonicSpike shares a report from Computer Weekly: Almost a third (30%) of the world's top virtual private network (VPN) providers are secretly owned by six Chinese companies, according to a study by privacy and security research firm VPNpro. The study shows that the top 97 VPNs are run by just 23 parent companies, many of which are based in countries with lax privacy laws. Six of these companies are based in China and collectively offer 29 VPN services, but in many cases, information on the parent company is hidden to consumers. Researchers at VPNpro have pieced together ownership information through company listings, geolocation data, the CVs of employees and other documentation. In some instances, ownership of different VPNs is split amongst a number of subsidiaries. For example, Chinese company Innovative Connecting owns three separate businesses that produce VPN apps: Autumn Breeze 2018, Lemon Cove and All Connected. In total, Innovative Connecting produces 10 seemingly unconnected VPN products, the study shows. Although the ownership of a number of VPN services by one company is not unusual, VPNpro is concerned that so many are based in countries with lax or non-existence privacy laws.
That Privacy Guy (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:3)
So what. It's not like there are consequences on the repeated times the CIA and NSA were caught spying domestically on U.S. citizens. It's a slap on the wrist for someone in middle management; shame shame, please don't do it again.
Constitutional rights are only rights when they are enforced. We're fucked as long as we have three branches of government that routinely ignore the Constitution or actively legislate illegal acts that subvert our rights.
Re: That Privacy Guy (Score:2)
"Constitutional rights are only rights when they are enforced."
In Soviet America one has all the rights for which one can afford to sue in Federal Court. Meaning most folks reading this have no rights at all.
Re: (Score:2)
The American Dream is: I've got mine, and you can go get yours. Now get off my property!
Does this make the VPNs safer for most US people? (Score:2)
CIA and NSA were caught spying domestically on U.S. citizens
Since there's probably only one organization in the world that can somewhat resist NSA wiretaps (China's military/ Huawei); maybe Chinese ownership of these VPNs makes it safer for US citizens.
The Chinese army won't care if you deal drugs or steal movies in the US - but the NSA has data sharing partnerships with DEA and probably MPAA, etc.
Russia (Score:2)
Already know it, that's why they build their own infrastructures
Yes, but what about users? (Score:2)
Now do the same study but rank them by users, if you can get reliable information.
Also what countries are these apps marketed in? I suspect that the China-based ones are only marketed in particular countries, so if you're not in those countries it's very unlikely you'd find out about them or use them.
Reason (Score:1)
Is the reason for China owning so many VPNs that the Chinese government wants to spy on us (while we're in China)? Or is the reason that so many Chinese citizens need VPNs to use foreign services such as StackExchange? (I also found it funny when I visited a Chinese University that they were teaching Google services; all students were required to have their own VPNs in order to pass the course)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Is the reason for China owning so many VPNs that the Chinese government wants to spy on us (while we're in China)?
Well don't get your panties into too tight of a twist over it. You can just opt for one of the other 70% of VPN companies, those are all owned by the NSA.
The two are the same (Score:1)
The Chinese are no fools. They know that "VPNs" are just as private as the endpoints. They'd be damn fools not to use them as a tool to control the populace.
Re: (Score:2)
Hope not to miss any data.
Learn from the CIA and "become" the VPN brand trusted in the private sector.
AC the why is easy to understand.
1. China needs its gov/mil/company staff to access international media/tech sites to "study" global tech/science/trends from gov approved labs using VPN products.
2. A person arrives in China as an international guest in a Communist nation.
They need a VPN. They have to use a VPN.
What bette
yeah okay (Score:1)
In Communist China . . . (Score:2)
VPNs own you!
Re: (Score:3)
"They got me a long time ago." --George Orwell, 1984, said by character O'Brien, on being seen by Winston at the Ministry of Love after being arrested and brought in.
Orwell was both right and wrong, the scope of true surveillance, or at least the potential for it, is far, far more pervasive than he ever could have imagined, and it may not be necessary for agents provocateur like O'Brien to take dissatisfied people and turn them into true enemies of the State.
Huxley was right too, in that most people would w
How much you want to bet... (Score:4, Insightful)
...that all "interesting" traffic on those VPNs gets passed on to the communist Chinese government>
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm shocked. (Score:1)
I'm shocked.
I had always assumed that at least 75% of them were actually owned and operated by the U.S. Government through shell companies.
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Not really surprising (Score:2)
They give away bandwidth and take legal risk for free in many cases? Why?
Then again: Free! Nom nom nom.
So, what about Windscribe?
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
You're anti-Western prejudices are showing ..
We assume a lot of things about the NSA (et al) without really knowing for sure. Yes, that the data streams (phone, Internet etc.) go through a filter is sort of established as a fact. What we don't know is how much is stored for future reference, nor how often they drill down deep on a group or person, nor the true extent of their capabilities (rumoured to be quite extensive, right down to the CPU chips we run our PCs, servers and phones with).
We also do not kno
Re: (Score:1)
Not the "yellow menace", not at all, but the fascist menace posed by the oppressing totalitarian (de facto) government of the dictator-for-life Xi Jinping and his dystopian racist "one China" jackboot vision for Asia and Oceania.
The best use for VPNs is: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
There is no point in using a link shortener unless you're trying to hide a malicious link. "Malicious" including for-profit links.
Nobody is going to click that. You're an idiot.
Some other news (Score:1)
Almost a third of the world's top producers of snacks and candies are American. What's the connection to the government? What are we putting in our mouths?
Almost 100% of the world's operating system installations are made and owned by American companies. What are the implications for foreign governments, banks, and technology industries?
And so on.
Your VPN is to hide your browsing habits from your ISP, other than that you can rarely have any expectations of true privacy. The exception being if you use Tor. A
Might be (Score:2)
But since we aren't spies we don't care.
As long as the content mafia doesn't get our IP address, we're good.
Re: (Score:2)
No s***? (Score:4, Insightful)
If I were running a well-funded state-level intelligence agency, item #1 on my priority list would be purchasing/establishing VPN companies (you know, the place where everyone helpfully concentrates traffic they are trying to conceal)
Re: (Score:2)
If I were running a well-funded state-level intelligence agency, item #1 on my priority list would be purchasing/establishing VPN companies (you know, the place where everyone helpfully concentrates traffic they are trying to conceal)
#1 on my list would have been establishing Google. I am sure they were shocked, SHOCKED, that the government was tapping their leased lines.
This issue really TRIGGERED the assets of the CCP (Score:2, Insightful)
This issue really TRIGGERED the assets of the CCP
You will find similar tactics are used in any public discussion examining or criticizing Chinese Communist Party's key agendas.
People's communications are of extreme interest to a dictatorship obsessed with total control, especially communications people are wishing to keep private.
As long as the CCP and its affiliates are free to operate businesses freely across the world, while their own empire is closed behind the great firewall, the least we can do is let
Lax privacy laws (Score:2)
many of which are based in countries with lax privacy laws
You mean, like USA?