Fake work attendance app for Alibaba’s office tool DingTalk lands developer in prison for five-and-a-half years

Beijing Deniu Technology CEO Zhang Chaojie was convicted of ‘sabotaging computer systems’ for apps that spoofed location and WiFi data. The executive argued that allowing some workers to check in late ‘isn’t very serious’, and said the apps do more than just fake GPS coordinates. — SCMP

The chief executive of a Beijing-based app developer was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for helping tens of thousands of users fabricate attendance records on enterprise collaboration platforms, according to an April court verdict published last month.

The People’s Court of Haidian District in Beijing ruled that Zhang Chaojie, whose company operated apps that faked location, WiFi and photo data, was convicted of “sabotaging computer systems”.