Massive Leak Shows How a Chinese Company Is Exporting the Great Firewall to the World
1 min read
Summary
More than 100,000 documents have been leaked, revealing that a little-known Chinese company, Geedge Networks, has been selling censorship systems to governments around the world which are modeled on the so-called Great Firewall of China.
The firm was founded in 2018, and has close ties with the Chinese company behind the Great Firewall, the US-sanctioned China Electronics Corporation.
The firm offers cybersecurity tools but also operates a sophisticated system allowing countries to monitor online information, block certain websites and VPN tools, and spy on specific individuals.
It has already been deployed in Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Myanmar and one other unidentified country, and the company is looking to hire engineers to work in other countries.
The documents show that Geedge is able to monitor and block VPN tools and collect and sell on metadata, and also give governments the ability to target specific individuals.
