Cybersecurity experts at Block, an established phone application, has revealed data security issues linked to Deepseek, a growing AI chatbot competitor to ChatGPT. Despite its rapid growth and modest development cost – 6 million dollars – Deepseek can expose users to serious privacy threats.
Investigation reveals malicious links
During a thorough analysis, Block's team the data activity for Deepseek and made a discovery. When they register via email, Deepseek calls the subdomain fp.it.fengkongcloud.com, a subdomain call from China associated with the device's fingerprint technology.
Device fingerprinting identifies and tracks devices using unique hardware, software, and browser attributes. Additionally, it has been reported from Open Threat Exchange and MalwareURL about malicious activity associated with related domains, such as static.fengkongcloud.com.
In just a few minutes, this subdomain was called 34 times in the first test and 28 times in the second test, which indicates possible data transfer outside user control.
Data requests linked to multiple countries
Further investigation found domains called from Russia, USA, UK and Spain. Of particular interest to the team were two subdomains:
- gator.volces.com
- tab.volces.com
Both of these subdomains are from Russia. There are no known harmful ties to these subdomains, but the purpose of the domain Volces.com is known to be related to device identification.
To verify these results restored The Blokk team tested devices, deleted all associated data and reinstalled Deepseek. The results confirmed that the domain fp.it.fengkongcloud.com was only called during account creation, while subdomains in Russia and the United States was again called under active use.
In the short minutes the investigation was carried out, Block blocked 36 domains (76% of the domains), because they were considered to constitute a privacy and security risk.
What users need to know
The Blokk team encourages users to take action online security measures before they download Deepseek, just as they should with any app or website they visit. If you choose to use the app, consider these precautions:
- Avoid using the same login details across multiple accounts.
- Monitor your online accounts for signs of unauthorized access or data leaks.
- Use security tools that tracks and blocks suspects data transfers.
Block-the team took appropriate measures when registering for The Deepseek application with the help of Block's maximum blocking capacity.
Information about the Blokk app
Block protects users on a app and browser level, filters traffic and blocks over 9 million online fraud and tracking domains that are known to threaten the user's privacy and security.
In Block is our mission to empower individuals to navigate the digital world on one safe and secure way. We protect users from online scams, trackers and phishing attacks with our advanced cybersecurity technology.
Block has over 1 million installations via Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
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