Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 18th Title: Stealing the verification code, swiping the bank card and maliciously deducting the phone bill … … Beware of the crime of SMS sniffing.

　　Xinhua News Agency "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporters Yan Zhihong, He Fan and Xu Ru

　　In the early morning, I suddenly found that the mobile phone signal dropped from 4G to 2G, and received all kinds of SMS verification codes from banks, Alipay and mobile companies. Subsequently, the bank account was emptied, the balance of Alipay was transferred away, and the mobile phone automatically ordered a bunch of useless value-added services … … This is not a scene in science fiction movies, but an illegal infringement of mobile phone users by SMS sniffer devices in the real world.

　　Recently, there have been many cases of stealing money by using SMS sniffing technology in many parts of the country, some of which involve more than one million yuan. A survey by Xinhua Viewpoint reporter found that some lawless elements peddled relevant technologies and equipment through social networks.

　　Criminals use sniffing technology to "take things from a distance" and SMS verification code is also robbed.

　　In August this year, a Sina Weibo netizen reported to the police and related financial institutions: from 2 am to 5 am, the mobile phone received more than 100 SMS verification codes from financial institutions such as Alipay, JD Finance and Bank, and all the balances in related accounts and bound bank cards "evaporated out of thin air".

　　Afterwards, it was identified by security technical experts, and it was considered as a typical case of property infringement by using SMS sniffing technology. According to He Yanzhe, a technical expert from China Institute of Electronic Technology Standardization, short message sniffing technology is to get the short message content of users by implanting mobile phone Trojans or setting up pseudo base stations without affecting the normal reception of short messages by users, including short message verification codes from banks, third-party payment platforms and mobile operators.

　　According to an industry insider, in addition to stealing funds from users’ financial accounts, SMS sniffing technology can also intercept the verification code sent by mobile operators to mobile phone users, which can be used to handle various value-added deduction services, thus stealing phone bills from mobile phone users.

　　According to public reports, recently, related cases have been cracked in many places across the country: in July, the public security organs in Xinxiang, Henan Province cracked a case of using SMS sniffing technology to buy virtual goods from other people’s financial accounts and arrested 10 suspects; In August, Xiamen police cracked a case of using SMS sniffing technology to steal other people’s financial accounts and arrested one suspect, involving more than 100,000 yuan. Also in August, Shenzhen police busted a full-chain bank card stealing gang, arrested 10 suspects, seized 6 sets of electronic equipment such as pseudo base stations, and cracked more than 50 similar cases, involving more than one million yuan.

　　Reporter’s unannounced visit: social networks sell sniffer equipment software, claiming that "the package will be taught"

　　Where did these illegal devices come from? The reporter searched on the Internet and social software and found a large number of sniffer device trading posts and exchange groups.

　　In a Baidu Post Bar named "Sniff it", many sellers not only introduce the sniffing function and leave contact information such as QQ and WeChat, but also often share some screenshots of successfully intercepting short messages to induce others to buy related equipment.

　　According to the guidance of a trading post, the reporter added QQ users with the tail number of 0960. The other party said that it only takes 8,500 yuan to sell the full set of equipment and software for stealing phone bills to reporters, and the related equipment for stealing Alipay account balance needs 20,000 yuan. In order to dispel the reporter’s concerns, the other party even said that it could verify the performance of the equipment at the startup site of the express outlet through the courier company’s "cash on delivery", and promised to pass the stupid tutorial "guarantee the teaching package".

　　A seller selling equipment told reporters that they have a special studio, some are responsible for making hardware and some are responsible for software programming.

　　Some sellers reminded reporters to abide by the "rules". For example, when stealing other people’s phone bills, the maximum amount of phone bills stolen in one day cannot exceed 3,000 yuan.

　　There are also sellers who sent a large number of photos and videos to reporters, proving that the equipment sold is true and reliable. In a video image, the sniffing equipment is running, and the other party also demonstrates how to operate the software, and successfully intercepts a short message verification code from UnionPay.

　　Experts suggest that operators should speed up the elimination of 2G network technology, and financial institutions should strengthen multiple verification of security factors.

　　What laws and regulations are violated by illegally buying, selling and using SMS sniffer equipment? Lawyer Zhang Yiteng of Fujian Yingkun Law Firm believes that the illegal production, assembly and sale of "pseudo base station" equipment may constitute the crime of illegal business operation because the seller has not obtained the qualification of telecommunication equipment network access license without the approval of the relevant competent authorities.

　　If the purchaser sets up or uses a radio station or radio frequency without authorization, which interferes with the radio communication order, causing the public telecommunication facilities to be interrupted to varying degrees, so that an unspecified majority of individuals cannot carry out communication activities normally, his behavior may constitute the crime of destroying radio and television facilities and public telecommunication facilities and disturbing the radio communication management order.

　　In addition, if the user commits the act of stealing bank cards, it may constitute theft and credit card fraud at the same time.

　　He Yanzhe said that SMS and call information under the 2G channel are transmitted in clear text. In order to successfully hijack signals and complete SMS sniffing, criminals sometimes interfere with 3G and 4G signals, forcing users to "reduce the dimension" to the status of 2G networks.

　　Yu Yun, head of Tencent Security Xuanwu Lab, suggested that users can ask operators to turn on the VoLTE function (a data transmission technology) so that short messages can be transmitted through the 4G network to prevent wireless monitoring from stealing short messages.

　　Yu Yun said that there is a "impossible trinity" in the field of network security, that is, it is impossible to achieve three elements of security, convenience and cheapness at the same time. Judging from the case that SMS sniffing technology steals other people’s financial accounts, at present, the "two-factor security authentication" based on account login password and SMS verification code, which is adopted by most financial institutions, is convenient, but there is a risk of failure in this environment.

　　He Yanzhe and other industry experts suggest that communication operators should consider speeding up the elimination of 2G network technology to ensure that users’ short messages and call content are not intercepted and stolen by others. In addition, experts suggest that financial institutions, including banks and third-party payment platforms, should strengthen multiple verification of security factors and introduce more perfect and reliable verification methods in the case of loopholes in "two-factor security authentication".

　　　　In China’s current academic periodical system, academic freedom and politics are an eternal issue. With the continuous development of economy and technology, academics have also made great progress. However, in the process of development, ideas are not unified, and thoughts from all sides are constantly emerging, which makes it easy for academics to take the wrong road of "left" or "right".

　　　　Connotation of academic freedom

　　　　Academic freedom includes academic authenticity and practicality.

　　　　Academic journals are the main positions where academic achievements can be published. As we all know, the most important feature of scholarship lies in its freedom. Academic freedom means that academics are based on objective existence, not on the will of any social group or individual. Adhering to academic freedom is the most fundamental factor for academic development. Academic freedom includes academic authenticity and practicality. Academic is the real law of the objective world, and the purpose of academic existence is to promote social development and human progress. Therefore, on the basis of authenticity, scholarship must also be practical and can be used to guide practice. In general, the value of academic achievements mainly lies in innovation, whether there are new research findings, whether new problems are raised or whether new research methods are applied.

　　　　Academic freedom must be carried out under certain conditions.

　　　　Freedom does not mean to be free from any constraints, but refers to freedom within a certain legal, reasonable and reasonable limit. Academic freedom must meet the following restrictions: First, obey the basic moral standards. Academic freedom should conform to the basic moral norms such as integrity and dignity, and should not exceed the moral bottom line of ordinary people. Although academic circles do not prohibit the appearance of academic articles involving some sharp or sensitive issues, these articles must also be on the basis of not violating the most basic human morality. Second, academic freedom must be carried out within the scope prescribed by law, for example, it cannot violate the relevant provisions of the law, such as publicizing the benefits of some violent crimes. This kind of academic research can not only promote the society, on the contrary, it is unfavorable to social development.

　　　　Grasp the degree of academic freedom

　　　　Academic freedom must be measured, not too much. Academic research and publication of results must also be within the basic scope to achieve freedom. Academics is a regular understanding of the objective world. In daily life, when it comes to academics, many people regard it as something profound and mysterious, but this is not the case. The key to the value of academic achievements lies in whether they are creative or not. Only by grasping the degree of academic freedom can we get a correct understanding of the academic itself.

　　　　Political nature of academic journals

　　　　Broadly speaking, everything in the country is political. This is especially true for newspapers and other media, which are the main positions of government propaganda activities. As the main carrier of academic achievements, academic journals must also be carried out within the scope of political permission and must also be political.

　　　　Generally speaking, academic journals include both natural sciences and humanities and social sciences. Academic research in natural sciences mostly reflects the objective laws of nature, while academic research in humanities and social sciences mostly involves the development laws of people and society. People and society have certain political attributes, and academic research cannot exist without politics. Therefore, academic journals will inevitably encounter the relationship between academic freedom and politics. Politics refers to issues related to national interests, people’s rights and obligations, while scholarship is an in-depth study and discussion of a certain social science field. Politics is from the macro aspect, while learning is from the micro aspect, which belongs to the political category.

　　　　Political nature of learning

　　　　The political nature of scholarship is mainly reflected in the following two points: First, scholarship also includes the study of politics. Academic research covers all aspects of social life, including politics. Academic research on politics is mostly based on the perspective of a certain interest group, and it should undoubtedly be highly political to serve a certain interest group. Second, ordinary academic research should also be political. Academics cannot develop at will, but must have a correct development direction and road, which needs political guidance. For ordinary people, academic journals play the role of propaganda and guidance. If they lack political nature, they will undoubtedly shake people’s beliefs and bring unstable factors to society.

　　　　Academics and politics are dialectical unity.

　　　　There are differences and connections between academics and politics, which complement and restrict each other. Whether it is an academic issue or a political issue, we must abide by objective laws. Academics must be carried out within the scope permitted by politics, and the development of academics is counterproductive to politics. Academics can promote political development, which in turn creates a more relaxed environment for academic development. If the academic and political direction do not match, it will be difficult to move forward, thus developing towards the correct development path in line with the political direction.

　　　　The essence of academic research

　　　　The essence of academic research is to serve social development, and in a sense, to serve the realization of national political goals. At present, China is in the tide of socialist modernization, and any work should be subject to this overall situation, and academic research is no exception. Academics do not exist in isolation, and their emergence and development are based on some political foundation. Because of a certain social demand, academics came into being. It has no practical significance to talk about academics without social and political needs. Academics must be considered in the overall economic and social development. Academic researchers draw a conclusion through in-depth investigation and research in a certain field, thus promoting economic and social development, which is the highest level of academic research serving politics. Of course, academic research is generally a research with a high degree of specialization in a certain field. This kind of research can’t be divorced from reality and can’t groan without illness. Research for the sake of research should be guided by correct politics.

　　　　How to grasp the relationship between them?

　　　　Party newspapers and journals are bound to be highly political, while academic journals are not so political. When it comes to academic journals, many people think that academics are the center, while politics is not so important. Some people even think that academics have nothing to do with politics or even are antagonistic. The disunity of this thought has led to a constant debate on the relationship between academic freedom and politics in the work of academic journals.

　　　　It is of great significance for the development of academic journals to grasp the relationship between academic freedom and politics. To grasp the relationship between academic freedom and politics, we should pay attention to the following aspects:

　　　　Academic freedom and politics are both related and different. On the one hand, under normal circumstances, academic research is done by individual scholars or groups headed by a scholar, which inevitably has personal feelings and personal views and opinions on politics. Especially the academic research on politics, it is more inevitable to reflect the individual political views of scholars. On the other hand, academic research generally only focuses on the fields it studies, and generally does not explicitly discuss specific political issues.

　　　　Adhere to the correct direction and principle of running a journal. For academic journals, the direction and principle of running journals are the most critical issues. If you don’t grasp the direction and principles of running a journal well, it is inevitable that you will do everything in the opposite direction. The international situation in today’s world is changing, and the western capitalist countries have never given up their penetration into China. At this critical moment, we should raise our political awareness and put an end to political mistakes. Readers of academic journals are mostly knowledge-based talents with higher education, and they have a strong understanding of things. If academic journals convey bad political information to them, it may cause serious consequences. Moreover, as a means of academic propaganda, academic journals have certain authority, should have a strong sense of responsibility, maintain sufficient rigor, and properly play their functions.

　　　　Pay attention to the political principles of manuscript selection. In the process of selecting manuscripts, we should not only pay attention to the problems studied by academic research institutes, but also pay attention to whether the authors have incorrect political orientation. Manuscripts that clearly violate the state’s major principles and policies should not be employed. At the same time, the authors of academic manuscripts must have a correct outlook on the world and life, and put forward original opinions on the problems studied on this basis.

　　　　The whole process of editing and publishing academic journals should conform to the provisions of national laws and policies. The formation process of academic journals needs many links, and each link should conform to the provisions of national laws and policies. The state has some special requirements for academic journals. Scholars must pay attention to the principles and policies formulated by the state in this field when conducting academic research. At the same time, reviewers of academic journals must also have a certain degree of understanding of the national laws and regulations of the articles they review. Moreover, in the process of peer review, some political issues need to be carefully examined by the reviewers many times, so as to do a good job in running academic journals at multiple levels and in all directions.

　　　　Focus on improving the professional quality and political quality of academic journal staff. The process of running academic journals is carried out by staff, and the quality of staff is closely related to the formation, publication and distribution of academic journals. The editing and reviewing of periodical manuscripts is a monotonous and boring job, which requires the staff to proofread every word patiently and carefully. Periodical staff should have high political quality, strong sensitivity, keep attention to political hot issues and focus issues, and at the same time have a certain degree of mastery of national laws and policies. In recent years, there are more and more kinds of academic journals, and the competition is becoming more and more fierce. How to face the new situation and meet the new challenges is a problem worthy of consideration by every academic journal staff.

　　　　In the process of running academic journals, we must fully grasp the relationship between academic freedom and political nature, which not only ensures academic freedom, but also ensures academic political nature, so that academic development is always on the right way forward.

　　　　(Author: Editorial Department of Journal of Taishan University)

　　　　Notes:

　　　　① Yang Dawei: On the Relationship between Academic Journals and Politics, Heilongjiang Social Sciences, No.6, 2011.

　　　　② Liang Shufa: "To run academic journals well, we should handle the relationship between academics and politics", The First Issue of Ideological and Theoretical Education, 2009.

　　　　③ Wu Wenqiang: On How to Deal with the Relationship between Politics and Academics of Academic Journals, Southland Today, No.3, 2010.

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