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Google claimed responsibility for the mystery UIDAI helpline suddenly creeping into our phones. In doing so, the tech giant appeared to end the mystery around the number, right? Wrong.
While the clarification was meant to put an end to this issue, it has only opened a can of worms. Security researchers scrubbed through the decompiled source code of Google’s Setup Wizard and dug up several questions for Google.
Interestingly, Jishnu Mohan, a software developer, had revealed Google’s involvement in this case before Google’s official clarification emerged.
Questions:
Security researchers and developers who scrutinised the decompiled source code also noticed that the “required contacts” field was inserted only for India and not for any other country. There is no similar provision in Android’s Setup Wizard for the United States, not even its emergency number 911.
In its clarification, Google says their internal review traced the issue back to 2014, which raises two questions:
“The 112 Distress Helpline Number was announced by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) on 4 May 2016, then how did Google code it in the Setup Wizard of the Android release given to the OEMs for use in India in 2014 ?,” said Bafna to The Quint.
“ I'm sure something is wrong with what Google is saying after the controversy on UIDAI Helpline Number,” added Bafna, a telecom sector analyst.
Even though Android is an open source software, Google does not release codes for each and every part of the system. They keep some parts private to retain competitive advantages.
“An important point is, if it was open source, anyone could have easily found out when it was added and possibly why it was added. I had reverse-engineered the code to get the decompiled source code and scrutinise it,” added Mohan.
Recently when the European Union antitrust regulators fined Google $5 billion for blocking rivals from its platform, it was a similar open source code that revealed the ways in which Google had abused its market dominance.
Google should also clarify what constitutes “required contacts”, especially, what “required” means and why the UIDAI number deemed a requirement.
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