In this report, we analyze the Windows, Android, and iOS versions of Tencent’s Sogou Input Method, the most popular Chinese-language input method in China. Our analysis found serious vulnerabilities in the app’s custom encryption system and how it encrypts sensitive data. These vulnerabilities could allow a network eavesdropper to decrypt sensitive communications sent by the app, including revealing all keystrokes being typed by the user. Following our disclosure of these vulnerabilities, Sogou released updated versions of the app that identified all of the issues we disclosed.
Vulnerabilities in Sogou Keyboard encryption expose keypresses to network eavesdropping.
Can you point to where it says that in the report? It actually says:
an IME will commonly reach out over the network to a cloud-based service for suggestions if suitable suggestions are not available in the input method’s local database.
the keystrokes of Sogou Input Method users can be decrypted by a network eavesdropper, informing the eavesdropper of what users are typing as they type.
I assume they mean “if suitable suggestions are not available in the input method’s local database”. Like you start typing a word, and when it doesn’t find any match locally, it goes to the server. After that, any additional keystroke gets reported to the server “as they type”.
Can you point to where it says that in the report? It actually says:
So it doesn’t send “every key typed”.
Literally says in bold even:
AKA every keystroke
I assume they mean “if suitable suggestions are not available in the input method’s local database”. Like you start typing a word, and when it doesn’t find any match locally, it goes to the server. After that, any additional keystroke gets reported to the server “as they type”.