14 DAY TRIAL // Millions of phones powered by custom firmware developed by Chinese firm ADUPS Technology were found to be collecting user data and sending it to a server in China, and now it turns out that Barnes & Noble’s NOOK is suffering from the same issue.
A report published by LinuxJournal reveals that the $49 NOOK (model number BNTV450) with a 7-inch screen is infected with the same malware, which appears to collect user information and then send it to China when an Internet connection is available.
On mobile phones powered by Android, this data included text messages, contacts, call history, IP addresses, and more, but it’s not yet clear how much data is collected from NOOK tablets.
Barnes and Noble’s Chief Digital Officer Fred Argir said in a statement that, since November 26 when the device went on sale, the company has already released new software to update ADUPS to version 5.5.
“NOOK Tablet 7 went on sale on November 26. By that time, the device automatically updated to a newer version of ADUPS (5.5), which has been certified as complying with Google’s security requirements, when first connected to Wi-Fi,” he said.
ADUPS firmware to be completely removed
Additionally, the Barnes & Noble official says the company has already contacted ADUPS to discuss the issue and received guarantees that no “personally identifiable or location data” was collected from NOOK devices, despite the recent discovery.
But to make sure that its customers are fully secure, Barnes & Noble is working on a new firmware version that will remove ADUPS completely from its devices.
“Finally, we are working on a software update to remove ADUPS completely from the NOOK Tablet 7”. That update will be made available to download within the next few weeks, but in the meantime customers can rest assured that the device is safe to use,” he said.
This means that customers getting a new NOOK should avoid connecting the device to the Internet until this software update arrives or at least to make sure no personal information is saved locally.