Due to security and censorship concerns, Lithuania warns against using Chinese phones.

The Lithuanian government conducted an inquiry, which revealed that its residents were not safe when using Chinese-made smartphones. The National Cyber Security Center examined a sample of Chinese-made 5G mobile phones and found that they were vulnerable to cyberattacks and had built-in censoring mechanisms.

This was announced on Twitter by the official account of the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense, in a post that also listed the studied brands: Xiaomi, Huawei, and OnePlus. “Our advice is to avoid buying new Chinese phones and to get rid of those that have already been purchased as soon as possible,” said Margiris Abukevicius, the country’s Deputy Defense Minister.

Researchers discovered censoring tools integrated into a Xiaomi cellphone, while a Huawei model was found to be open to cyber threats.

They also discovered that one of Xiaomi’s most popular models, the Mi 10T 5G, includes software that detects and censors terms like “free Tibet,” “long live Taiwan’s independence,” and “democracy movement.” These were not, however, the only ones. According to the investigation, the Xiaomi phone system applications may block over 449 phrases, which did not include the default internet browser.

Another of the study’s most alarming findings was that a well-known Chinese smartphone maker has been sending encrypted phone usage data to a Singapore server. The document may read, “This is vital not only for Lithuania, but for other countries that employ Xiaomi equipment.”

In the case of Huawei smartphones, the research uncovered a security hole in the P40 5G model, putting customers at danger of a data leak. “Huawei’s official application shop, AppGallery, directs users to third-party electronic stores where some of the applications have been identified as harmful or infested with viruses by antivirus products,” said Lithuanian Ministry of Defense and National Center spokespeople. Cybersecurity is an important topic.

Brands are well-known.
The charges made by the Lithuanian government were denied by Xiaomi. “Xiaomi has never restricted or blocked any personal conduct of our smartphone users, such as searches, calls, online browsing, or the usage of third-party communication software,” says the company. “All users’ legal rights are fully recognised and protected,” he stated in a press statement.

Huawei, on the other hand, told the newspaper that it complies with the laws and regulations of the nations in which it operates and that cybersecurity and privacy are top priorities for the corporation. “Data is never processed outside of the Huawei device,” a Huawei official stated.