Tough action taken against data theft

Chinese police cracked more than 7,000 cases involving personal information security violations last year, the Ministry of Public Security said on Tuesday, urging strict legal compliance in handling such data.

Authorities took tough measures against such crimes last year, dismantling multiple platforms that traded personal data, the ministry said in a statement. It also disclosed 10 typical cases police solved in 2024, in which suspects obtained personal data through technical means, fraud or other methods.

In one case, a suspected criminal organization led by a person surnamed Liu allegedly developed Trojan malware to steal data, according to the ministry. Members of the group would take jobs at companies offering training services and implant the malware in company computers to access client information, the ministry said.

In September, the police of Beijing's Haidian district arrested eight suspects and helped 17 companies remove the malware from their computers.

In another case, police in Changchun, Jilin province, dismantled a suspected criminal organization led by an individual surnamed Wang that allegedly faked business licenses to trick jobseekers into sending resumes, which were then sold to telecommunications fraud gangs. In June, police arrested 27 suspects and seized more than 1,000 fake business licenses.

A separate case involved collusion between an alleged criminal group and employees in the courier industry. The organization has been accused of stealing personal information from delivery orders and selling it. Police in Zhangye, Gansu province, arrested 18 suspects.

The ministry urged companies and individuals handling personal information to comply with the law and enhance security measures. It also advised the public to store and use their personal data carefully and report suspected leaks to authorities.