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Fake work attendance app for Alibaba’s office tool DingTalk lands developer in prison for five-and-a-half years

  • Beijing Deniu Technology CEO Zhang Chaojie was convicted of ‘sabotaging computer systems’ for apps that spoofed location and Wi-Fi data
  • The executive argued that allowing some workers to check in late ‘isn’t very serious’, and said the apps do more than just fake GPS coordinates

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The CEO of app developer Deniu Technology was sentenced to more than five years in prison for apps that helped users spoof their location on office software. Photo: Shutterstock
Coco Fengin Beijing

The chief executive of a Beijing-based app developer was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for helping tens of thousands of users fabricate attendance records on enterprise collaboration platforms, according to an April court verdict published last month.

The People’s Court of Haidian District in Beijing ruled that Zhang Chaojie, whose company operated apps that faked location, Wi-Fi and photo data, was convicted of “sabotaging computer systems”.

Among the several apps offered by four-year-old Beijing Deniu Technology was its flagship product called Daniu Zhushou, which allowed users to cheat Alibaba Group Holding’s DingTalk. The widely-used office software requires employees to clock in within a set location range or while on office Wi-Fi to prove attendance.

Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post.

By the time Daniu Zhushou was removed from app stores, it had been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Using the app required a subscription of 25 yuan (US$3.9) per month or 89 yuan per year, after a 12-hour free trial, allowing the app to pull in 4 million to 5 million yuan in total revenue, according to the published verdict.

A product manager for the app developer, a witness surnamed Zhao who offered testimony, said the location spoofing apps could also be used with Tencent Holdings’ WeChat and JD.com’s on-demand household service app Wang Shifu.

Zhang and his lawyer argued that the app was not meant to cheat DingTalk and did more than just GPS location spoofing. They also said it only helped “certain employees show up late or get off early, which isn’t very serious”, according to the verdict.

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