Machine Translators May Leak Confidential Information

The report analyzes the Youdao desktop translation tool and demonstrates that it transmits user-highlighted text and related metadata over unencrypted HTTP GET requests, exposing potentially sensitive or confidential content to anyone able to passively sniff the network. The authors tested multiple versions, reconstructed a sample plaintext query containing confidential-looking content and application context (notepad.exe), and recommend verifying whether HTTPS can be enabled, pausing translation, and avoiding deployment of such cloud-based translation tools in confidential environments unless secure transport and privacy assurances are confirmed.