China surveillance firm tracking millions in Xinjiang: researcher
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS FEBRUARY 17, 2019 / 6:45 AM / UPDATED 10 HOURS AGO
China surveillance firm tracking millions in Xinjiang: researcher
Cate Cadell, Philip Wen
3 MIN READ
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese surveillance firm is tracking the movements of more than 2.5 million people in the far-western Xinjiang region, according to a data leak flagged by a Dutch internet expert.
An online database containing names, ID card numbers, birth dates and location data was left unprotected for months by Shenzhen-based facial-recognition technology company SenseNets Technology Ltd, according to Victor Gevers, co-founder of non-profit organization GDI.Foundation, who first noted the vulnerability in a series of social media posts last week.
Exposed data also showed about 6.7 million location data points linked to the people which were gathered within 24 hours, tagged with descriptions such as mosque, hotel, internet cafe and other places where surveillance cameras were likely to be found.
It was fully open and anyone without authentication had full administrative rights. You could go in the database and create, read, update and delete anything, said Gevers.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-xinjiang-cyber/china-surveillance-firm-tracking-millions-in-xinjiang-researcher-idUSKCN1Q60CG