Military sweep finds no banned Chinese apps
CYBERWARFARE SWEEP: Chinese-made apps could be backdoors for the PLA to gain access to military information through defense ministry cellphones
By Huang Ching-hsuan / Staff reporter
Inspections of all 2,936 government-issued cellphones used by the military have been completed, with no high-risk Chinese-made apps found installed, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said, as the ministry works to implement five cybersecurity measures across the armed forces.
When China’s navigation app Amap (高德地圖) was deemed to pose a high cybersecurity risk several months ago, lawmakers asked the ministry to ban servicemembers from downloading the app, to prevent tactical planning and defensive strategies from leaking.
In a report, the defense ministry said yesterday that the Ministry of Digital Affairs on May 27 announced its cybersecurity assessment results on four apps made in China, including Amap.
The MND had already on April 24 and May 29 notified servicemembers that installing Chinese-made apps including Amap is strictly prohibited, and on June 4, ordered all units to inspect all government cellphones, it said. None of the 2,936 phones were found to have the app installed, it said.
The ministry said that in accordance with the Regulations Governing the Subsidies for Mobile Phone Numbers and Call Expenses of the Armed Forces (國軍行動通訊門號及通話費補助作業規定) and the Operational Requirements for Civilian Smartphone Control (民用智慧型手機管控作業要求), it protects military information and communication security through five main measures.
The measures include setting clear requirements, promoting policy awareness, auditing and inspection, annual checks and clearly defined penalties, it said.
The MND said Chinese-made apps such as Amap, TikTok, WeChat, Sina Weibo, Tencent QQ, bilibili, Xiaohongshu (小紅書, known as RedNote in English) and Baidu Netdisk were prohibited to prevent information leaks.
The ministry said it raises awareness reminding servicemembers not to install the banned apps. Servicemembers are strictly prohibited from using the phones to record or transmit military information to prevent data leaks or malicious access, it said.
The ministry said unit commanders and supervisors and cyberwarfare specialists would conduct regular and unannounced inspections on government and personal cellphones in their units.
Inspections would check if personal phones have been officially approved, if remote management measures are working as intended and to make sure no Chinese-made applications have been installed, it said.
If Chinese-made apps are installed on personal cellphones, servicemembers would be encouraged to delete them in order to prevent personal data breaches, it added.
The ministry uses annual communications, electronics and information systems readiness inspections to audit different levels of command in various operational areas, the ministry said.
It said if unit or personal cellphone usage violations are detected, they would be penalized according to the Armed Forces Disciplinary Punishment Act (陸海空軍懲罰法) and the Regulations Governing Armed Forces Information and Communication Security (國軍資通安全獎懲規定).
If a violation involves leaking confidential national defense information or damaging the reputation of the armed forces, the offender would be prosecuted in accordance with the law, and supervisory and management oversight failures on the part of unit commanders and chief information security officers would be examined for accountability, it added.
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