The Chinese e-commerce app Temu remains in the spotlight as new lawsuits in the United States continue.
Any person with a working smartphone will have likely encountered Temu at some point in the last few months. This e-commerce platform created by the Shanghai-based Pinduoduo (PDD) looks like a cheap Wish alternative. However, there might be something more dangerous lying behind.
A swath of data collected by Grizzly Research and independent security experts have accused Temu of posing a dangerous risk to users, as well as to the national security of the United States. These reports found that Temu collects data from users’ devices without their explicit consent, much like other Chinese-made apps including TikTok.
So, what’s behind Temu? And is it really dangerous to use it?
Is Temu dangerous? The threats to users’ security
According to Grizzly Research, Temu’s code contains features similar to highly aggressive malware and spyware. In particular, Temu uses hidden features to collect data from the consumer without their knowledge. The organization published a report showcasing these worrying conclusions.
We believe is a Dying Fraudulent Company and its Shopping App TEMU is Cleverly Hidden Spyware that Poses an Urgent Security Threat to U.S. National Interests. Read our new report here:
— Grizzly Research (@ResearchGrizzly)
Starting from this request, the Swiss IT security company Joe Security LLC also chose to investigate by adopting a "Deep Malware Analysis" tool (JoeSandbox). After the checks, the application was classified as "malicious".
However, the problem also concerns the financial accounts of the company which, despite the huge nominal losses, continues to expand and manages to remain firmly on its feet. In particular, the document contains estimates that indicate that Temu could record a loss of 30 dollars for each order processed. This loss is attributed primarily to associated advertising spending and shipping costs, but turnover rates at current sales volumes are not mathematically sustainable. Furthermore, the report calls into question PDD’s financial reliability by suggesting that the company’s accounting may not be transparent and that it has lacked a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since 2018.
Finally, looking at the costs of the multitude of objects present in the catalog, there are those among the analysts who remind us that if we are not paying for a product, then we are the product.
How Temu endangers national security
The United States government is increasingly worried about the dangers posed by Chinese apps. The Biden administration has cracked down on Chinese apps, restricting the use of TikTok for government workers. As a matter of fact, the US government is considering banning Temu too.
This sort of cyber warfare is part of the larger conflict between the United States and China. At least since the beginning of the Trump administration, China tried to infiltrate American security to steal highly confidential documents. China’s espionage warfare reached a new high last year when a Chinese balloon was spotted flying over the continental US.
At the moment, Temu is also embroiled in a series of lawsuits in the United States. In particular, Temu filed a lawsuit against rival Shein for trademark infringement and unfair competition.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2023-09-26 23:50:21. Original title: L’app Temu è pericolosa? Le ragioni dell’allarme
