Mandatory Olympic phone app required by China for ALL attendees at 2022 Beijing Games 'has serious security flaws that could expose data'
- A smartphone app that China is requiring for all athletes attending next month's Winter Games in Beijing reportedly has glaring security problems
- Citizen Lab, an internet watchdog group, said in its report the MY2022 app has seriously flawed encryption that would expose users' sensitive data
- Data could be read by Chinese internet service providers or telecommunications companies through Wi-Fi hotspots at hotels, airports and Olympic venues
- China is requiring all international Olympic attendees - including coaches and journalists - to download and start using the app 14 days before their departure
- The app allows users to submit required health information on a daily basis
- The report comes amid heightened concerns over athletes' data and privacy. Many countries are advising their athletes not to take their normal smartphones
- Citizen Lab said it reported the security issues to the Beijing Organizing Committee last month but did not receive a response
A smartphone app that China is requiring for all athletes attending next month's Winter Games in Beijing reportedly has glaring security problems that could expose sensitive data.
Citizen Lab, an internet watchdog group, said in its report the MY2022 app has seriously flawed encryption that would make users' sensitive data - and any other data communicated through it - vulnerable to being hacked. Other important user data on the app wasn't encrypted at all, the report found.
That means the data could be read by Chinese internet service providers or telecommunications companies through Wi-Fi hotspots at hotels, airports and Olympic venues.
A Chinese snowboarder looks at her phone as she sits in the locker areas at the Thaiwoo Ski Resort before it closed for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, on January 3, 2022 in Chongli. A smartphone app that China is requiring for all athletes attending next month's Winter Games in Beijing reportedly has glaring security problems that could expose sensitive data. Citizen Lab, an internet watchdog group, said in its report the MY2022 app has seriously flawed encryption that would make users' sensitive data - and any other data communicated through it - vulnerable to being hacked. Other important user data on the app wasn't encrypted at all
A woman checks her phone in front of an installation of Shuey Rhon Rhon, mascot of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games at the Olympic Park in Beijing
China is requiring all international Olympic attendees - including coaches and journalists - to download and start using the app 14 days before their departure.
The app allows users to submit required health information on a daily basis and is part of China's aggressive effort to manage the coronavirus pandemic while hosting the games, which begin February 4. The multipurpose app also includes chat features, file transfers, weather updates, tourism recommendations and GPS navigation.
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Citizen Lab's report comes amid heightened concerns over athletes' data and privacy. Many countries are advising their athletes not to take their normal smartphones to China, but instead to bring temporary - or burner - phones that do not store any sensitive personal data, according to news reports.
The US Olympic & Paralympic Committee issued an advisory to athletes telling them to 'assume that every device and every communication, transaction, and online activity will be monitored.'
'There should be no expectation of data security or privacy while operating in China,' the advisory said.
China has a well-documented history of conducting muscular surveillance of its citizens and aggressive cyber-spying on others. But Citizen Lab said there was no evidence that the easily discoverable security flaws in the MY2022 app were placed intentionally by the Chinese government.
For one, much of the sensitive health information held on the app is required to be submitted directly to authorities on health customs forms, the report said.
China is requiring all international Olympic attendees - including coaches and journalists - to download and start using the app 14 days before their departure
People take selfies in front of an installation of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics mascot Bing Dwen Dwen and Winter Paralympics Shuey Rhon Rhon in Beichen Road on January 12
Citizen Lab said the security vulnerabilities found in MY2022 app are similar to those found in popular Chinese web browsers and noted that 'insufficient protection of user data is endemic to the Chinese app ecosystem.'
'In light of previous work analyzing popular Chinese apps, our findings concerning MY2022 are, while concerning, not surprising,' the report said.
Citizen Lab said it reported the security issues to the Beijing Organizing Committee last month but did not receive a response. The report also said the app's security flaws could run afoul of Apple's and Google's policies for software used on iPhones and Android devices. The two companies did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Android version of the MY2022 app included a list named 'illegalwords.txt' that included 2,442 keywords, including some that could be politically sensitive and relate to China's actions toward Tibet and the Uyghur ethnic group.
A woman takes photos with her mobile phone of a figure skating sculpture erected for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, at the Shougang Industrial Park, which will be used as a venue for hosting sport and other events during Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
The report said despite having the list bundled with the app, it does not appear to function. The Chinese government has long required tech companies to censor content and keywords deemed politically sensitive or inappropriate.
China is accused of detaining more than a million Turkic Muslim Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region as part of a campaign to wipe out their traditional culture, language and beliefs.
President Joe Biden signed a bill last month that bans goods made in northwestern China's Xinjiang region, unless companies can show forced labor was not involved.
IOC President Thomas Bach has repeatedly said the Olympics must be 'politically neutral,' but they seldom are. Four years ago in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Bach aggressively promoted his bid to drive talks between the two Koreas.
Hongkongers, Tibetans, Uyghur Muslims, their Jewish allies and supporters hold placards as they demonstrate in Parliament Square against Beijing's hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, in London, United Kingdom on October 24, 2021. The activists refer to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics as 'Genocide Games' amid China's ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims, Tibetans and Hong Kongers
Late last year, the United Nations General Assembly approved the Olympic Truce Resolution by a consensus of the 193 member states; 173 co-sponsored the resolution.
However, 20 nations did not sign up as co-sponsors including the US, Britain, Japan, Canada, Australia, India and North Korea. The US and Australia are future Olympic hosts, Japan just held the Summer Olympics and is a candidate for 2030, and North Korea is China's staunchest ally.
Bach has declined to condemn the alleged genocide or speak out on human rights in China. He seldom mentions the Uyghurs by name.
'We have our full focus on the athletes,' Bach said. 'We welcome that they can participate, that they are supported by their national governments. The rest is politics.'
A man uses his mobile phone at the spectator area of the Shougang Big Air venue, which will host the big air freestyle skiing and snowboarding competitions at the 2022 Winter Olympics
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