Researchers Link DeepSeek To Chinese Telecom Banned In US (apnews.com) 25
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: The website of the Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek, whose chatbot became the most downloaded app in the United States, has computer code that could send some user login information to a Chinese state-owned telecommunications company that has been barred from operating in the United States, security researchers say. The web login page of DeepSeek's chatbot contains heavily obfuscated computer script that when deciphered shows connections to computer infrastructure owned by China Mobile, a state-owned telecommunications company. The code appears to be part of the account creation and user login process for DeepSeek.
In its privacy policy, DeepSeek acknowledged storing data on servers inside the People's Republic of China. But its chatbot appears more directly tied to the Chinese state than previously known through the link revealed by researchers to China Mobile. The U.S. has claimed there are close ties between China Mobile and the Chinese military as justification for placing limited sanctions on the company. [...] The code linking DeepSeek to one of China's leading mobile phone providers was first discovered by Feroot Security, a Canadian cybersecurity company, which shared its findings with The Associated Press. The AP took Feroot's findings to a second set of computer experts, who independently confirmed that China Mobile code is present. Neither Feroot nor the other researchers observed data transferred to China Mobile when testing logins in North America, but they could not rule out that data for some users was being transferred to the Chinese telecom.
The analysis only applies to the web version of DeepSeek. They did not analyze the mobile version, which remains one of the most downloaded pieces of software on both the Apple and the Google app stores. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission unanimously denied China Mobile authority to operate in the United States in 2019, citing "substantial" national security concerns about links between the company and the Chinese state. In 2021, the Biden administration also issued sanctions limiting the ability of Americans to invest in China Mobile after the Pentagon linked it to the Chinese military. "It's mindboggling that we are unknowingly allowing China to survey Americans and we're doing nothing about it," said Ivan Tsarynny, CEO of Feroot. "It's hard to believe that something like this was accidental. There are so many unusual things to this. You know that saying 'Where there's smoke, there's fire'? In this instance, there's a lot of smoke," Tsarynny said.
Further reading: Senator Hawley Proposes Jail Time For People Who Download DeepSeek
In its privacy policy, DeepSeek acknowledged storing data on servers inside the People's Republic of China. But its chatbot appears more directly tied to the Chinese state than previously known through the link revealed by researchers to China Mobile. The U.S. has claimed there are close ties between China Mobile and the Chinese military as justification for placing limited sanctions on the company. [...] The code linking DeepSeek to one of China's leading mobile phone providers was first discovered by Feroot Security, a Canadian cybersecurity company, which shared its findings with The Associated Press. The AP took Feroot's findings to a second set of computer experts, who independently confirmed that China Mobile code is present. Neither Feroot nor the other researchers observed data transferred to China Mobile when testing logins in North America, but they could not rule out that data for some users was being transferred to the Chinese telecom.
The analysis only applies to the web version of DeepSeek. They did not analyze the mobile version, which remains one of the most downloaded pieces of software on both the Apple and the Google app stores. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission unanimously denied China Mobile authority to operate in the United States in 2019, citing "substantial" national security concerns about links between the company and the Chinese state. In 2021, the Biden administration also issued sanctions limiting the ability of Americans to invest in China Mobile after the Pentagon linked it to the Chinese military. "It's mindboggling that we are unknowingly allowing China to survey Americans and we're doing nothing about it," said Ivan Tsarynny, CEO of Feroot. "It's hard to believe that something like this was accidental. There are so many unusual things to this. You know that saying 'Where there's smoke, there's fire'? In this instance, there's a lot of smoke," Tsarynny said.
Further reading: Senator Hawley Proposes Jail Time For People Who Download DeepSeek
Chop the net in two - us here them there (Score:2)
As Snowden showed, a lot of info flows from our "privately owned" companies to our state actors too.
Maybe in the end as we won't trust them and they don't trust us we'll just chop the Internet in too with a Checkpoint Charlie for data packets at the interface.
Dear America (Score:2, Informative)
Researchers Link DeepSeek To Chinese Telecom Banned In US
Dear America,
We know it's hard for you to accept that you are not the only ones who can create AI and that you aren't the unquestionably best at it in the entire known universe but please just try to accept that unalterable fact, grow the fuck up and stop being such a bunch of petulant miserable goddamn butthurt victims about it. You are of course free to continue this toddler tantrum about being upstaged by a Chinese communist AI startup but all it's doing is making you look fucking pathetic.
Regards,
The En
Re: (Score:1, Funny)
I am surprised there has not been an attempt to link it to a lab or the wet markets in Wuhan with all the fervour.
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We know it's hard for you to accept that you are not the only ones who can create AI
It's funny how we were okay with Japan when they were the ones who had all the cool toys [youtube.com], but now that it's China we've completely lost our shit.
Re: (Score:3)
Japan was then essentially a client state. And we weren't all that happy about it anyway. I remember the way imported Japanese cars were denigrated.
a whole lot of smoke? (Score:3)
There's a whole lot of people with an interest in finding smoke.
If only AI could be super-intelligent enough to de-obfuscate code.
What? Me worry? (Score:5, Insightful)
Musk already has all of my information financial, tax, health, etc.
I think the US actors are a lot more dangerous than the Chinese.
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Well there is some good news on that front. The treasury has clarified that President Musk is limited to read only access of it's systems. https://www.politico.com/live-... [politico.com]
Man, I remember that time Obama invited George Soros over to the Pentagon and said make yourself at home. Oh wait that never happened.
For anyone wondering why fElon Musk went after USAID first, here is why. They were investigating his relationship with Ukraine and Starlink. https://futurism.com/elon-musk... [futurism.com]
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
For anyone wondering why fElon Musk went after USAID first, here is why. They were investigating his relationship with Ukraine and Starlink. https://futurism.com/elon-musk... [futurism.com]
so, that link makes quite some wild claims but does not even remotely suggest that "usaid is investigating musk" like you imply. who is usaid to investigate anyone to begin with? and what is there to investigate about the fact that musk refused to allow starlink to be used in some military operation, which is something he openly admitted to and provided (pretty sensible, although you might not agree) reasons for? that's a lot of consipiranoia out of thin air. any source?
interestingly though, usaid has been
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so, that link makes quite some wild claims but does not even remotely suggest that "usaid is investigating musk" like you imply.
Right from the horses mouth.
https://oig.usaid.gov/node/681... [usaid.gov]
interestingly though, usaid has been funding several media organizations in ukraine, particularly the "kiev independent", that emblematic publication that emerged after the "kiev post" was slashed in 2021 for being too harsh on exposing the corruption of the ukranian government, and has become since the main source (along with the ukrainian government) of all the propaganda for english speaking audience that has been fed for almost 3 years and regurgitated by western media, about the developments in the ukrainian war, nowadays clearly exposed as nonsense in view of the sheer, harsh, stubborn reality on the ground.
otoh word has it that since it isn't possible anymore to deny that ukraine is royally and irreversely screwed, both the us and eu are thinking now might be the time for a regime change (another one, that is). could that have anything to do with usaid money stopping to flow, shutting down the propaganda?
Talk about propaganda...
Yes, Ukraine had corruption like many countries. Does that justify an invasion by Russia?
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so, that link makes quite some wild claims but does not even remotely suggest that "usaid is investigating musk" like you imply.
Right from the horses mouth.
https://oig.usaid.gov/node/681... [usaid.gov]
it seems you are making a habit of posting references that don't back up your insinuations like you wish they do. do you even read them before posting? or do you just skim the headlines? literally from your source (and that's just one of the *two* paragraphs of your source):
Our objectives are to determine how (1) the Government of Ukraine used the USAID-provided Starlink terminals, and (2) USAID monitored the Government of Ukraine’s use of USAID-provided Starlink terminals.
how is that "investigating musk's relationship with anything"?
Yes, Ukraine had corruption like many countries. Does that justify an invasion by Russia?
nothing "justifies" an invasion, but corruption can "explain" mechanisms which are relevant factors in wars being created, in general and certainly in the case of ukraine.
besi
No! (Score:3)
NOO! You can't release that open source match! It's banned! You've been banned from releasing fp8 numbers! Won't someone think of the OpenAI shareholders?!
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s/match/math/ fuck
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IIUC, the DeepSearch thing is three different things, one of which is a web-app, that reportedly does censor things in the manner approved by the CCP. So if they're talking about the web app rather than about the weights, I'll believe lots of claims. None of this applies to the locally hosted model. (I've heard that it will even respond to "tankman".)
And ChatGPT and Gemini et al don't? (Score:5, Insightful)
I think it's safe to say that if Country X or Company X (X used as a variable, calm down) creates software that, unless its ToC is explicit, can be assumed to send data back to the mother ship. In the case of anything Telecommunications or Chinese in terms of software, the CCP has a vested and legally mandated back door. That's a given. Now, if you don't think ChatGPT Gemini or Copilot are gleaning your queries for further training of their models, then you're foolish. Yes, things banned in one country may not be banned in another. There was a case in Canada of a murder trial with particularly horrid details. The judge in that case issued a gag order on the press et. al. That didn't bar US news from covering it, and the RCMP was forced to confiscate newspapers at the border of incoming US citizens even though there may or may not have been mention of the trial within them. In the age of the Internet, you can't control the flow of information as easily as you'd like.
Always remember in any online "free" service, you are the product, what you do with those systems will be tracked.
They poisoned the well (Score:5, Insightful)
Normal people receive data breach notification every couple of weeks, and accept EULAs without even blinking. They're all aware of government mass surveillance the selling of personal info to government agencies as end runs around constitutional protections.
Crying foul about China stealing data means fuckall at this point. Who gives a shit. Uncle Sam already stole it all anyway. China's not the one sending gunmen into private bedrooms and shooting our dogs.
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IIRC, in at least one recent case China stole the info from the feds private collection. They were upset enough to claim that metadata was important.
Came Here To See What The Bots Say (Score:2)