In this report, we analyze the Windows, Android, and iOS versions of Tencent’s Sogou Input Method, the most popular Chinese-language input method in China. Our analysis found serious vulnerabilities in the app’s custom encryption system and how it encrypts sensitive data. These vulnerabilities could allow a network eavesdropper to decrypt sensitive communications sent by the app, including revealing all keystrokes being typed by the user. Following our disclosure of these vulnerabilities, Sogou released updated versions of the app that identified all of the issues we disclosed.
Vulnerabilities in Sogou Keyboard encryption expose keypresses to network eavesdropping.
What’s the deal with Android “keyboards”? Why is it just an app that you can install? And why can it have more functionality/permissions from the OS beyond just being a local keyboard? As an iOS user this is very bizarre and foreign to me.
I feel like every time the topic of Android keyboards (again, why is this a thing?) comes up it’s some kind of big spyware thing. Seems like most every app on Android and iOS is spyware anyway, of course.
As someone that hasn’t drank that Apple flavoured Kool-aid, I can’t understand why people thinking the inabality to use a device you own in the way you want to is considered a feature.
All aspects of android (pretty much) are customisable. It’s not the os that is the problem, but the developers who program on all this telemetry.
There keyboards on android are much more useful than what’s available on iOS. There is a similar issue with launchers. They, by their nature, need more access to other apps and more permissions. In most cases, that means more features, but meta and Microsoft have launchers too…
I use android and iOS. I find both good but the customisable nature of android is what drove me away from iOS.
What’s the deal with Android “keyboards”? Why is it just an app that you can install? And why can it have more functionality/permissions from the OS beyond just being a local keyboard? As an iOS user this is very bizarre and foreign to me.
I feel like every time the topic of Android keyboards (again, why is this a thing?) comes up it’s some kind of big spyware thing. Seems like most every app on Android and iOS is spyware anyway, of course.
As someone that hasn’t drank that Apple flavoured Kool-aid, I can’t understand why people thinking the inabality to use a device you own in the way you want to is considered a feature.
All aspects of android (pretty much) are customisable. It’s not the os that is the problem, but the developers who program on all this telemetry.
There keyboards on android are much more useful than what’s available on iOS. There is a similar issue with launchers. They, by their nature, need more access to other apps and more permissions. In most cases, that means more features, but meta and Microsoft have launchers too…
I use android and iOS. I find both good but the customisable nature of android is what drove me away from iOS.