China Cracked Apple Airdrop’s Encryption To Find Pranksters

A Chinese tech company, Beijing-based Wangshendongjian Technology, has successfully cracked the encryption around Apple’s Airdrop wireless file sharing function, according to Beijing’s Justice Bureau, as reported by Juliana Liu and Hassan Taiyer for CNN.

Airdrop has been criticized for nuisance messages received by commuters and was used by protesters in China to spread messages critical of the government.

The company's efforts aided the police in tracking down individuals who used Airdrop to send "inappropriate information" to passersby in the Beijing subway, the agency said in a statement.

The investigation following a complaint allowed them to identify the senders' mobile phone numbers and email addresses.

Several suspects have been identified, although the nature of the messages was not disclosed.

The firm managed to "break through the technical difficulties of anonymous traceability through AirDrop," preventing the further spread of inappropriate remarks and potential bad influence.

Airdrop has been criticized for nuisance messages received by commuters and was used by protesters in China to spread messages critical of the government.

Residents reportedly used Airdrop to distribute leaflets and images echoing slogans used in a rare protest against Chinese leader Xi Jinping in October of the previous year. In 2019, during Hong Kong protests, Airdrop was popular among demonstrators for sending posters and artwork urging participation in protests.

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