Was Huawei allowing an unknown app to invade into our phones?

7

October

2019

5/5 (2)

As many of you probably know already, the Trump administration banned US companies from doing business with Huawei a few months ago. As a consequence, the Mate 30 Pro, Huawei’s latest flagship phone was launched without Google apps due to the import ban. The phone came with a basic, open-source Android instead of the advanced Google Mobile Service (e.g. Google Play Store, Gmail and Google Maps) we are accustomed to.

However, a few months ago an anonymous Chinese company called Lzplay came with a workaround. Through their website, you can easily download their app to gain access to Google services. Google apps should not be able to work on Mate 30 due to the lack of system-level permissions. However, Lzplay’s method managed to do so. Nonetheless, not without a price. According to John Wu, an Android security researcher, Lzplay used undocumented Huawei APIs inside the operating system that is used for device security to trick Google servers. What does this mean for your phone? After the installation of Lzplay, your Mate 30 Pro’s security is at risk since the application has administrator rights. That means that Lzplay can easily brick your phone or install ransomware without you noticing.

According to Huawei’s documentation for security authorization SDK, third party developers are required to sign legal agreements and let Huawei review it in order to gain access to the software development kit (SDK). Therefore, the developer of Lzplay was somehow aware of these undocumented APIs, signed the legal agreements, went through the reviews and eventually have the app signed by Huawei. It should also be noted that Lzplay was launched 3 days before the public launch of the Mate 30 Pro which means that Lzplay knew well about all of this before the launch and had the time to build an app, went through the review process, and launch a website. Wu suggested that Huawei is aware of the secret tools Lzplay used and explicitly allowed its existence since this will allow people to get Google Play onto the devices that would have been blocked otherwise.

Last week, Wu revealed the information regarding Lzplay and shortly after, the website of Lzplay was taken offline and the signature was remotely revoked by Huawei. Does this mean that Huawei played a part in this? It’s hard to say. According to a Huawei spokesperson, the multinational technology company has no involvement with Lzplay. It could be that Huawei created Lzplay to alleviate Google app anxiety for potential Mate 30’s customers. If this was the case, then it sure did backfire Huawei. Albeit, the backdoor may be shut for now but could be opened again through another method. Probably, a more solid one than the one Lzplay offered.

References:

Amadeo, R. (2019). ‘The Internet’s horrifying new method for installing Google apps on Huawei phones’. Accessed on 7 October 2019 on https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/10/the-internets-horrifying-new-method-for-installing-google-apps-on-huawei-phones/2/

Cooper, D. (2019). ‘Huawei’s Mate 30 loses workaround for installing Google apps’. Accessed on 7 October 2019 on https://www.engadget.com/2019/10/02/huawei-mate-30-workaround-lzplay-shut-down/?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAF-jsfJEpD19GyD_nXAQn-U0-gpP1qukCY-g7MT-c7nx7eTOV_o2k3bTYi6CoLTeBDOS1_K3xhhys9OsnNdzjmrZrp7qcUacIYBP-q26AJX2LK8XiuegqjcUF0iudVPLpmCsC2Al37FZae8eKAlFkXE0UJEBUWYTcHe4npVX0gmw&guccounter=2

Huawei (n.d.) ‘安全类授权开放开发指南’. Accessed on 7 October 2019 on https://developer.huawei.com/consumer/cn/devservice/doc/30702

Phelan, D. (2019). ‘Huawei Shock: Mate 30 Pro’s Back Door To Google Apps Slams Shut’. Accessed on 7 October 2019 on https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2019/10/01/huawei-mate-30-pro-has-the-back-door-to-loading-google-apps-just-slammed-shut/#c69d7dc76a82

Wu, J. (2019). ‘Huawei’s Undocumented APIs – A Backdoor to Reinstall Google Services’. Accessed on 7 October 2019 on https://medium.com/@topjohnwu/huaweis-undocumented-apis-a-backdoor-to-reinstall-google-services-c3a5dd71a7cd

 

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Is Instagram the new beauty standard?

28

September

2019

5/5 (3)

Do you also catch yourself mindlessly scrolling through Instagram whenever you have got some time to spare? Believe me, you are not alone. But have you ever wondered how all these images of other people’s bodies may affect how you view your own body? No matter whether these pictures are your friend’s holiday picture, influencers’ gym selfie, or a celebrity’s beach photoshoot. You may think by yourself: “I wish I looked like her”.

Nowadays, the usage of social media is gradually growing and has already infiltrated into our daily lives. Instagram creates the illusion of perfection which is perceived by many as the beauty standards. In contrary to these beauty standards, our normal non-perfect lives seem somehow abnormal. As a result, some people may resort to drastic measures, or even eating disorders as their dissatisfaction with their body grows to try to achieve these unattainable goals as “beauty standards” (Dakanalis et al. 2014).

As we are scrolling through Instagram or posting pictures of ourselves, negative thoughts about our own body may arise (Holland & Tiggermann, 2016). A harsh comment by someone may result in dissatisfaction with our own body as many of us tend to interpret our social standing through comments or social comparison (Toma et al. 2008). A nice example is a video I encountered a few years ago by Cassey Ho, a social media fitness entrepreneur. Please watch the video below.

 

This video reflected how the comments by others on social media may affect how we feel about our own body. It made me start wondering how much of what we see are real on Instagram. Nowadays, there are numerous apps for altering your face and body as well as beauty filters to cover your imperfections (Fallon, 2014). Many of the pictures we see online are altered to enhance their features before it goes online. Even if I do not want to admit it, I will often find myself comparing to these influencers as well. I believe many followers of these Insta-celebrities do as well and what these followers think, actually becomes the new beauty standard.

This is just how trends work; they are going in and out like a fast fashion. Back in the day, flat chest and slim waist were in and now curvy body, thick lips and big booty are in. What is next? What do you think about the current beauty standard that is defined by altered pictures as the result of the current technology? Are you able to catch up with the current trend or will you rather alter yourself just to fit in? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Sources:

Dakanalis, A., Clerici, M., Caslini, M., Favagrossa, L., Prunas, A., Volpato, C., & Zanetti, M. A. (2014). Internalization of sociocultural standards of beauty and disordered eating behaviours: the role of body surveillance, shame and social anxiety. Journal of Psychopathology, 20, 33-37.

Ho, C. (2015) The “Perfect” Body [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsL7W-GHhJA

Holland, G., & Tiggemann, M. (2016). A systematic review of the impact of the use of social networking sites on body image and disordered eating outcomes. Body image, 17, 100-110.

Fallon, K. (2014). Streams of the self: The Instagram feed as narrative autobiography. In Proceedings of the interactive narratives, new media & social engagement international conference (Vol. 101, pp. 54-60).

Toma, C. L., Hancock, J. T., & Ellison, N. B. (2008). Separating fact from fiction: An examination of deceptive self-presentation in online dating profiles. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(8), 1023-1036.

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