China forensic firm cracks Apple’s AirDrop to help Beijing police track senders
- Suspects accused of sending ‘inappropriate speech’ to subway passenger via the anonymous filesharing service ‘identified’
- Authorities turned to the private company because the iPhone feature is hard to regulate through conventional surveillance
In an article published on its official WeChat account on Monday, the bureau said forensic firm Beijing Wangshendongjian Technology Co Ltd had “broken through the technical difficulties of tracing anonymous AirDrops”.
The firm “prevented the further spread and potential bad influence of inappropriate speech” on the Beijing subway, when a passenger’s iPhone received an unacceptable video via AirDrop, the bureau said.
The file-sharing service allows Apple device users to share files with nearby users via Wi-fi or Bluetooth without revealing their identity. It was used during protests against strict Covid-19 restrictions in 2022, as well as in Hong Kong’s 2019 unrest.
“Due to the anonymity of AirDrop and the difficulty of tracking it, some netizens have already started to follow this behaviour, so the source of the transmission must be identified as soon as possible to avoid bad influence,” the article said.
Because the feature could be used without an internet connection, it was difficult for police to regulate “through conventional internet surveillance means”, it said.