[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-zais-coding-tool-zcode-uploaded-a-workspace-only-it-can-open":10,"sections":36},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":24,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":25,"tags":26,"sources":31,"feedback":35,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":35,"total_tokens":35},7061,"zais-coding-tool-zcode-uploaded-a-workspace-only-it-can-open","Z.ai's coding tool ZCode uploaded a workspace only it can open","A developer found ZCode's local directory holding an encrypted workspace archive bound for Alibaba's cloud, one only Z.ai can unlock or claim to delete.","An AI coding assistant from Z.ai was caught quietly encrypting a user's project files and shipping them off to the company's own cloud storage, in a format nobody outside Z.ai can open.\n\nA developer who goes by Ferstar spotted the behavior after digging through ZCode's local directory on September 18, 2026. Sitting there was a 313MB encrypted archive queued for upload to Alibaba's cloud storage, one that had already failed to send 564 times. A smaller file, it turned out, had already gone through successfully. South China Morning Post reporters Minxiao Chang and Wency Chen followed up on the account.\n\nHere's the problem: because the archive is encrypted with a key only Z.ai holds, nobody outside the company can check what was actually packed into it, or confirm it's really gone if Z.ai says it deleted it. That's an awkward spot for a tool that reads straight from a developer's local project folder - the entire pitch of a coding assistant is trust, and \"we promise we can't see it, and we promise we deleted it\" isn't something anyone else can audit.\n\nTake-my-word-for-it security is still just marketing with extra steps.","[\"zai\",\"zcode\",\"data-privacy\",\"coding-assistants\"]","2026-09-20T18:40:28.000Z","2026-09-20T19:30:28.092Z","2026-09-20T19:30:41.796Z","published",null,[],"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.xyz.onl\u002Farticle-images\u002Fzais-coding-tool-zcode-uploaded-a-workspace-only-it-can-open.webp","security",[27,28,29,30],"zai","zcode","data-privacy","coding-assistants",[32],{"name":33,"url":34},"The Next Web","https:\u002F\u002Fthenextweb.com\u002Fnews\u002Fzai-zcode-encrypted-upload-only-zai-can-verify",0,{"sections":37},[38,43,46,51,56,61,66,71,76,81,86,91,96,101],{"name":39,"slug":40,"count":41,"latest_published_at":42},"AI","ai",4115,"2026-09-20T11:20:00.000Z",{"name":44,"slug":25,"count":45,"latest_published_at":18},"Security",676,{"name":47,"slug":48,"count":49,"latest_published_at":50},"Policy","policy",350,"2026-09-20T20:32:43.000Z",{"name":52,"slug":53,"count":54,"latest_published_at":55},"Deals","deals",179,"2026-06-29T20:02:07.000Z",{"name":57,"slug":58,"count":59,"latest_published_at":60},"Hardware","hardware",156,"2026-09-19T11:00:00.000Z",{"name":62,"slug":63,"count":64,"latest_published_at":65},"Science","science",130,"2026-09-20T13:48:11.000Z",{"name":67,"slug":68,"count":69,"latest_published_at":70},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",99,"2026-09-09T17:27:33.000Z",{"name":72,"slug":73,"count":74,"latest_published_at":75},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",78,"2026-09-18T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":77,"slug":78,"count":79,"latest_published_at":80},"Software","software",75,"2026-09-10T20:41:21.000Z",{"name":82,"slug":83,"count":84,"latest_published_at":85},"Startups","startups",55,"2026-09-09T23:14:29.000Z",{"name":87,"slug":88,"count":89,"latest_published_at":90},"Gaming","gaming",43,"2026-09-10T12:18:06.000Z",{"name":92,"slug":93,"count":94,"latest_published_at":95},"General","general",42,"2026-09-18T22:35:10.000Z",{"name":97,"slug":98,"count":99,"latest_published_at":100},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":102,"slug":103,"count":104,"latest_published_at":105},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]