N. Korea’s new phone limits file transfers from foreign devices

[KimJongilia]

http://www.nknews.org/2016/07/n-koreas-new-phone-limits-file-transfers-from-foreign-devices/

N. Korea’s new phone limits file transfers from foreign devices

No transfers of files from foreign made handsets not totally without precedent

Leo Byrne
July 14th, 2016

North Korea has updated its Arirang smartphone, with the newer model no longer allowing Bluetooth file transfers from foreign phones, according to Aram Pan at DPRK 360.

Pan photographed the new handset during his latest visit to North Korea. The settings panel shows the phone is the Arirang 151, and lists the build date as June 12 this year.

“The Arirang AP151 phone. Foreign android phones cannot transfer photos or files via Bluetooth to this new unit,” Pan wrote in the caption for the photograph.

The cell phone’s information screen also shows that like its predecessor, the new Arirang runs a version of Google’s Android operating system.

It’s unclear how often file transfers from foreign cell phones were occurring with previous North Korean handsets, however the DPRK protecting its electronics from outside files is not unprecedented.

“From what I know, North Korean tablets are not allowed to install external programs … I think we are talking about similar case here. Either with Bluetooth or with other connections methods, the North is preventing information from foreign phones getting into theirs,” Kim Jong-son, a researcher at the Science and Technology Policy Institute told NK News.

But Kim added that such security measures were likely not fool proof and could eventually be circumvented.

“It would be hard to tell me whether the process would be easy or not as I don’t know what kind of security measures were installed. But my guess is, someone coming from an IT educational background should be able to crack it, if they really wanted to.”

Previous reports have indicated how North Korea often loads domestic software with tools to track what users do or what files they open.

In December last year the country’s in-house operating system made headlines when security researchers discovered it watermarks every file, allowing the DPRK authorities to know where any file originated and who has viewed or opened them.

But despite North Korea’s claims that much its showcase consumer electronics hardware – including the Arirang Smartphone – is domestically produced, many experts suspect most of the technology is made by China and merely assembled in the DPRK.

Additional reporting by JH Ahn

Featured Image: IMG_9856 by NK10/10 on 2015-10-09 08:49:34