China Hacks Apple’s AirDrop Feature

Chinese authorities have developed a technology that hacks Apple’s wireless file-sharing feature, ‘AirDrop.’ It appears that the tool will be used to strengthen control over anti-government individuals.

According to industry sources on the 10th, the Chinese judicial authorities developed a tool to trace anonymous AirDrop in collaboration with the Beijing Wangshendongjian Forensic Appraisal Institute.

As per the reports, the feature can decrypt the encrypted logs of iPhones that have received AirDrop, revealing the sender’s phone number and email, among other details. In essence, it is a hack into Apple’s AirDrop technology.

Chinese judicial authorities have long attempted to control Apple’s wireless transmission technology AirDrop. Unlike other transmission methods that use the communication network, AirDrop allows people using iPhones to anonymously transmit data via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. From the perspective of the Chinese authorities who control the communication network, this is a difficult method to control.

Due to these features, AirDrop proved its power during the 2019 anti-government protests in Hong Kong and the 2022 ‘Zero Covid’ protest. Young Chinese protestors used AirDrop to transmit rally photos and messages, thereby evading censorship by Chinese authorities.

Since 2022, Chinese judicial authorities have begun cracking down on AirDrop, and Apple has imposed restrictions on its functionality including adding a 10-minute time limit to the ‘AirDrop Everyone’ option. Critics have argued that Apple is kowtowing to the Chinese government. Currently, the control over the AirDrop feature in China has been strengthened including an option to only receive contacts.

The industry is showing increasing interest in whether the AirDrop tracking tool has exploited a security vulnerability in iPhones.

By. Seong il Hong