印度要求中資企業(yè)證明數(shù)據(jù)安全

Smartphone makers and creators of internet browsers have become the latest Chinese companies to find themselves the subject of scrutiny by the Indian government, with New Delhi insisting they prove they are keeping customer data safe.

中國的智能手機制造商和網(wǎng)絡瀏覽器開發(fā)商成為最新一批受到印度政府關注的中資企業(yè)，新德里方面堅持要求它們證明自己在保持客戶數(shù)據(jù)的安全。

Indian officials have demanded that smartphone makers, predominantly Chinese, co-operate with a security audit to check whether the data they have on Indian users is secure.

印度官員們要求智能手機制造商(主要是中資企業(yè))配合一項安全審計，以檢查它們持有的印度用戶數(shù)據(jù)是否安全。

One official said 30 companies in total had been asked to provide information to investigators, one of which is the Alibaba-owned browser UCWeb, which has more than 100m monthly active users in India, claiming a 57 per cent market share.

一名官員表示，共有30家公司被要求向調查人員提供信息，其中之一是阿里巴巴(Alibaba)擁有的UC瀏覽器(UCWeb)，其在印度的每月活躍用戶超過1億，占據(jù)57%的市場份額。

The move is the latest example of Indian authorities taking action against Chinese companies, having banned them from investing in the Indian power grid in May. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since then, with the two armies involved in a stand-off at Doklam, near their border with Bhutan.

此舉是印度官方對中資企業(yè)采取行動的最新例子。今年5月，印方禁止中資企業(yè)投資印度電網(wǎng)。自那以來，兩國關系出現(xiàn)惡化，雙方軍隊在中國與不丹接壤的多蘭高原(Doklam Plateau，中國稱洞朗地區(qū)——譯者注)陷于一場對峙。

“With India and Chinese tensions rising because of Doklam, [India] has been more proactive about cracking down on Chinese brands and looking into where the data are going,” said Neil Shah, analyst at Counterpoint.

“隨著印中之間的緊張由于多蘭高原的對峙而上升，印度更加積極主動地打壓中國品牌，并開始關注數(shù)據(jù)的去向，”Counterpoint的分析師尼爾•沙阿(Neil Shah)表示。

“For some brands, the data servers are in Singapore, and some might have them in China, and many of them are not disclosing where it goes. From Singapore, it could go anywhere, including back to China, and this could be a security threat.”

“一些品牌的數(shù)據(jù)服務器位于新加坡，有些品牌的服務器可能在中國，而其中許多品牌并沒有披露數(shù)據(jù)去向。這些數(shù)據(jù)可能從新加坡流向任何地方，包括轉移到中國，這可能構成一個安全威脅。”

UCWeb said it had not been told by the Indian government about the probe, adding that it was “common practice” for IT companies to place servers around the globe to improve service for users and that measures were taken to encrypt the data transmitted.

UCWeb表示，它尚未從印度政府接到這項調查的通知，并補充稱，IT公司把服務器部署在全球各地是“常見的做法”，目的是改善用戶服務，同時數(shù)據(jù)在傳輸中采取了加密措施。

“It is also standard industry practice to collect user information and data in necessary scenarios to provide users with localised services. We take necessary authorisation from users to collect this data,” the company said.

“在必要情況下，收集用戶信息和數(shù)據(jù)以便向用戶提供本地化服務，也是標準的行業(yè)實踐。我們在收集這些數(shù)據(jù)時征求了必要的用戶授權，”該公司表示。

Many in India criticise the behaviour of Chinese companies operating there. “Chinese technology companies employ practices that undercut the norms in democratic countries,” said Brahma Chellany, professor of strategic studies at New Delhi’s Centre for Policy Research.

印度許多人士批評在該國經(jīng)營的中資企業(yè)的行為。“中國科技企業(yè)采用的一些做法，削弱了民主國家的規(guī)范，”新德里政策研究中心(Centre for Policy Research)的戰(zhàn)略研究教授布拉馬•切拉尼(Brahma Chellaney)表示。

India has long fretted about technology being used by terrorists and not being able to access it. In 2010, it threatened to ban BlackBerry smartphones if it did not provide access to certain data. At the time, India was concerned that encrypted messages, such as BlackBerry’s corporate email, could be used by terrorists to stage strikes, such as the attack in Mumbai in 2008 that killed 166 people.

印度長期對恐怖分子利用新技術、而當局無法破解這些技術感到頭疼。2010年，印度曾威脅要封殺黑莓(BlackBerry)智能手機——除非該公司讓政府訪問某些數(shù)據(jù)。當時，印度擔心加密信息(如黑莓公司的企業(yè)級電子郵件)可能被恐怖分子用來策劃襲擊，例如2008年孟買遭遇的導致166人遇難的恐襲。

Mr Shah said the latest crackdown also played into concerns that Chinese manufacturers are dominating the smartphone market and, despite Made in India requirements, are largely using Chinese parts and simply assembling them in India.

Counterpoint的沙阿表示，最新的打壓也回應了印度一些人的擔憂，即中國制造商正在霸占智能手機市場，而且盡管面對“印度制造”要求，仍基本上只使用中國部件，只是在印度組裝。

In the latest quarter, almost half of all smartphones sold in India were from Chinese brands, he said, such as Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo.

他說，在最近一個季度，印度銷售的近一半智能手機是中國品牌的手機，如小米、Vivo和Oppo。

For tech companies such as Alibaba, which owns UCWeb, the data they collect — on where people are, what they are buying and who they are talking to — are increasingly valuable. The Indian government, said Mr Shah, “is now getting more cognisant of the fact that data are the new oil, so they have to think about where the data goes”.

對于擁有UCWeb的阿里巴巴等科技公司，其收集的數(shù)據(jù)——關于人們在哪里，他們在購買什么，他們在跟誰交談——正變得越來越有價值。沙阿表示，印度政府“正越來越清醒地意識到數(shù)據(jù)是新的石油，所以他們不得不考慮數(shù)據(jù)的去向”。