Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) revealed that it delayed reporting a software bug because it didn’t know it was severe. Chen Zhaojun, the Alibaba cloud researcher, discovered the big in the log4j software and informed the Apache Software Foundation to fix it.
After Zhaojun reported the flaw, governments and companies worldwide rushed to update their systems before hackers could take advantage. Experts gave the vulnerability a 10.0 CVSS score and called it a worst-case scenario. Hackers can easily exploit the flaw, which isn’t easy to find.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in China has blamed the company for not reporting the vulnerability earlier. As a result, it has put its collaboration with Alicloud on hold for half a year. Although Zhaojun reported the flaw on November 29 to Apache, the MIIT didn’t know until December 9.
The Chinese government has taken advantage of software vulnerabilities in the past
The Provisions on Security Loopholes on Network Products, which regulators enforced in September, requires companies to report a flaw to a manufacturer immediately after spotting it. It also requires the company to report to relevant Chinese authorities in two days.
Past studies showed that the National Vulnerability Database updated CVEs faster than its U.S counterpart. However, the researchers would realize that the Chinese government had manipulated data. In addition, authorities would back-date publication dates for vulnerabilities to hide their exploitation of the flaws.
For this reason, many experts see the suspension as another move to regulate big tech companies. Alibaba has been the target of strict regulations throughout the year.
Alibaba’s cloud sector has experienced growth
The company’s cloud sector is one of the fastest-growing operations earning 10% of its revenue in Alibaba’s last quarter. Moreover, the sector has grown by more than 33%. After the suspension of the partnership, Alibaba’s shares dropped by almost 2%.
Meanwhile, Mainstay VP Candriam Emerging Markets Equity Portfolio has bought Alibaba Group Holding for $145.08 to $221.87 per share. The holding is currently 520,000 shares.
Voya investments Trust also increased its holding in the company by 109.73%. It bought the shares at $141.9 to $212 per share. The investment company now has 535,696 shares.
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