Personal data is a strategic resource for the regime. The massive leaks of information reveal the ambition of global surveillance of society. But when the data is controlled by the enemies of the leadership, it could constitute a danger.
Rome () – In June, a database containing the personal information of one billion Chinese citizens and detailed records of calls to the police was sold online. The hacker claimed that the leak came from the Shanghai police and demanded a ransom of 10 bitcoins (over $200,000).
The samples contain detailed information about the name, phone number, identity document number, date and place of birth of citizens. According to the Wall Street Journal, records of calls and criminal cases date back to 1995. They include fraud, robbery, domestic violence, rape, as well as details about citizens cited by police for discussing political issues on the web.
The massive leak demonstrates that Chinese authorities are at the forefront of the world in collecting information on citizens, but are not in a position to protect the data.
Cybersecurity analysts say the stolen data has been housed in Alibaba’s cloud for more than a year without a cryptographic lock. The Shanghai authorities would have summoned the directors of the technology giant, including the vice president in charge of cloud computing, Chen Xuesong. Alibaba shares fell 7.5% on July 15.
Alibaba is a government digital infrastructure service provider. Already in 2016 its founder Jack Ma had suggested applying big data to governance and social control. Chinese authorities have implemented a strict lockdown and “zero Covid” policy thanks to a tracking system developed by tech giants.
Discussions about this massive data leak are censored on Chinese social media. The authorities also did not respond to questions from the press. However, such cases have already occurred several times in China.
Laws passed since 2016 have not prevented the loss of data and personal information on the internet. To a large extent, they are intended to strengthen the control of the authorities over the data and prevent it from leaking abroad. Internet service providers must keep user data within national borders. For example, Apple had to create a data center in southwestern China, controlled by a state-owned company, to store Chinese user data.
Chinese authorities actively support the concept of cyber sovereignty. In the race for digital control, they are using various channels to obtain data from abroad, for example operations to hack, penetrate or acquire foreign companies.
Chinese video-sharing app TikTok has gone viral due to controversy over user privacy. In addition to censorship, TikTok recently admitted that its staff in China can access the data of users in other countries. TikTok denies providing data to the Chinese government, but domestic companies are required to hand over information to authorities under the state security law.
The growing importance of big data accelerates the intervention of the authorities, as well as the control and deeper integration with the giants of the web, since personal information is considered a strategic asset for social control. Instant messaging apps like WeChat are a perfect tool for surveillance and population control.
However, databases can become a threat when they are controlled by the enemies of the leadership. In that case, the technology companies end up getting involved in the power struggle for control of the Chinese Communist Party.
According to various foreign media outlets, WeChat Vice President Zhang Feng was arrested for sharing user information with Sun Lijun, a vice minister of public security who was later ousted by Xi Jinping. Sun was accused of “cultivating personal power and forming an interest group” within the Party’s anti-fraud body. Sun allegedly asked WeChat for information about his political colleagues.
The regime’s leadership is also keeping an eye on an unfinished WeChat project that uses data science to predict who will be the new members of the Politburo, the Party’s decision-making body.
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