Beijing legal officials have revealed that a Chinese tech business has managed to break the encryption around Apple’s AirDrop wireless file sharing capability in order to identify users of the well-liked technology.
According to a statement released by the city’s Justice Bureau on Monday, Wangshendongjian Technology was able to assist authorities in finding those who had used the service to communicate “inappropriate information” to bystanders on the Beijing metro.
As part of an inquiry into a complaint, it had discovered the email addresses and cell phone numbers of the senders, according to the department. It said that a number of individuals had been identified, but it withheld information regarding the type of messages.
Certain commuters in Chinese cities have been receiving annoying messages on buses and subways, which have been attributed to AirDrop.