Alibaba is in the new for all the wrong reasons. The UC Browser developed by UCWeb has allegedly leaked data to China from Indian users. The IT Ministry has initiated an investigation over a series of complaints against the UC Browser over the leakage of mobile data of its users to China.
The incident came to light when a team of researchers based at the University of Toronto have reportedly discovered several privacy and security vulnerabilities. The team found that that data of the users has been compromised heavily causing serious privacy violations.
According to sources, the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Hyderabad has been assigned the task to conduct a detailed investigation based on the findings of the University of Toronto report. The UC Browser is very popular in India and China and has been endorsed by reputed tech personalities such as Rajib Makhini.
The officials warned that if the findings are found to be true and if the company is found guilty, then the UC Browser will face ban in India since Government can’t take any chances.
Commenting on the development, a senior government official disclosed that they have received several complaints against UC Browser. It has been said that the browser sends mobile data of its users based in India to Chinese servers. This includes browsing habits and other crucial confidential financial information.
Moreover, even if users have uninstalled the UC Browser or cleaned the browsing history, the software still retains control of DNS of the relevant device. The official said that this is a serious matter, which should be dealt with firmly since it concerns the privacy of the users.
Technically, UC Browser is the second popular web browser after Google Chrome. With an overall market share of 48.66 percent and over 100 million monthly users, the company frequently do a wide range of promotions in the form of contests via the browser.
As a user, we used to navigate the web via the browser. However, we never thought that it would send data to China. In the past, Xiaomi was also accused of stealing data and sending them to Chinese servers when they initially entered the Indian shores.
In addition to the UC Web, Alibaba also made significant investments with Paytm and Snapdeal. There are also reports that Alibaba is keen to enter Indian e-commerce market. If the allegation were found to be true, then it would lead to serious consequences including exist of UC Browser from the Indian soil.
It remains to be seen as to what action the Government will take based on the reports issued by the CDAC. Will the Government-controlled technology company give a clean chit to Alibaba? Let’s wait and watch.
