Report: China Controls Major VPN Apps

Twenty percent of the top 100 virtual private network (vpn) apps listed on Apple’s App Store are owned by Chinese companies that could use sensitive information to further China’s drive for global domination, research from the Tech Transparency Project and the Financial Times discovered. The research was published Tuesday.

• In addition to the United States’ and United Kingdom’s individual App Stores, the vpns also appear on these nations’ Google Play stores.

Why it matters: This puts the hundreds of thousands of people who have downloaded these apps under threat of a personal data security breach. Any information these companies have is also in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, due to Chinese law.

Report: Qihoo 360, a firm sanctioned by the U.S. Commerce Department for national security purposes and listed as a “Chinese Military Company,” owns vpn Proxy Master, Signal Secure vpn, Snap vpn, Thunder vpn and Turbo vpn (which was listed 13th overall in the App Store).

Google gave Turbo vpn a verified badge, which is given to “highlight apps that prioritize user privacy and safety, help users make more informed choices about the vpn apps they use, and build confidence in the apps they ultimately download.” This raises red flags concerning Google’s verification process.

Before the report, all five apps appeared on the U.S. App Store. Since then Apple reportedly took Thunder vpn and Snap vpn off the App Store. But variations of these five apps are still on Google Play.

In the UK, all five—as well as other Chinese apps owned by Chinese companies—appeared on Google Play. vpn Proxy Master and Turbo vpn (under a different name) were also seen on the App Store.

Prophesied vulnerability: The Bible prophesies that enemies of the U.S. and the UK will take advantage of technological vulnerabilities. These attacks will play a major role in the fall of these two nations.

Learn more: Read “You’re on File: China Building Huge Espionage Database on Americans.”