Digital forensics set for rapid growth in China

Leading firm says market size will likely exceed 10 billion yuan in next five years

Xiamen Meiya Pico Information Co Ltd, China's largest provider of digital forensics and information security products, has predicted huge growth in the business segment it operates in.

Digital forensics involves identifying and extracting evidence from digital media such as computer hard drives, mobile phones and media storage cards.

"With the development of information technology, more and more high-tech crimes are related to digital data. Pre-discovery, monitoring of suspects and post-crime investigations are becoming important in the field of information security," said Derek Teng, chairman of Meiya Pico.

Apart from public security departments, enterprises are facing risks from dishonest employees who steal their employers' confidential data, make unauthorized disclosure of core technology, and indulge in illegal operations, including bribery.

Meiya Pico, which is also one of the world's leading digital forensics firms, provides its services to China's administrators such as the Ministry of Public Security, the Cyberspace Administration of China, departments of industry, commerce and taxes, and judicial authorities.

"Digital evidence is both fragile and volatile, which requires certified specialists to isolate and extract evidence in a scientific manner that will bear the scrutiny of a court," said Ge Peng, vice-chairman of Meiya Pico.

The company also offers training courses taught by industry experts for law enforcement agencies. Established in 1999, Meiya Pico has 20 offices across the country with about 1,000 employees. It was listed on the ChiNext Board for startup companies at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2011.

In 2014, its revenue was 700 million yuan ($109 million), with net profit at 120 million yuan, and had a market share of about 50 percent in the country's digital forensics.

"Our business has been growing at 30 to 50 percent annually (in recent years) as high-tech crimes increased, and demand for digital forensics from the law enforcement departments has been huge."

The company estimates the digital forensics market will reach more than 10 billion yuan by 2020, with products related to mobile Internet and big data driving growth.

According to a report by Norton Electronics Technology Co Ltd, an online security company, China was hurt the most by worldwide hackers. In 2014, about 240 million Chinese consumers were victims of online crimes with economic losses reaching 700 billion yuan.

Experts underline the need for a firm government policy on the issue, a fool-proof system of third-party digital forensics and increase in research and development budgets of online technology-driven companies.

Ding Liping, chairwoman of the Computer Forensics Expert Committee at the Chinese Institute of Electronics, said digital forensics is still nascent. It is, however, being widely researched.

She said the country is facing technological challenges not only in cloud-computing forensics but mobile and big data forensics. "There is no absolute safety in any environment and system, and we have a long way to go on the road of digital forensics."

"The demand (for digital forensic services) from enterprises and individual customers is expected to spur growth (of the segment)," said Teng.

Xiamen park takes holistic approach to brighten community life

The Xiamen Software Park in the sub-provincial city of Xiamen in Fujian province has built up an innovative ecosystem where entrepreneurs could not only work but enjoy diverse public facilities and services like housing, children's education, catering and entertainment.

Meng Qian, director of the Xiamen Development and Reform Commission, said the park is one of the earliest special economic zones in China, and enjoys excellent natural environment, infrastructure and government services that support entrepreneurship and innovation.

Xiamen began to plan for software and information services industry very early. Construction of the software park I, II and III began in 1998, 2005 and 2011, respectively.

The key segments that drive the park are application development, gaming, animation and mobile Internet. In 2014, they generated 32.19 billion yuan ($5 billion) in revenue, accounting for 80 percent of the total revenue of the software park.

Xiamen Software Park I and II are spread across 1.05 square kilometers, home to more than 1,600 enterprises and about 57,000 employees. Their collective output in 2014 was worth 47 billion yuan that generated 1.57 billion yuan in taxes for Xiamen.

Xiamen Software Park III will be much larger, at 10 sq km. It is expected to accommodate 2,000 enterprises and 200,000 workers with the production value expected to reach 200 billion yuan.

Still under construction, its commercial facilities will include apartments, four bus transit hubs, one subway transit hub, as well as gyms, schools, hospitals and hotels.

Three leading enterprises, whose names all start with M, stand out in the zone. They are: Meitu Inc, a photo app developer, Meiya Pico Information Co Ltd, a leader in digital forensics and information security, and China Mobile's Migu Culture and Technology Group Co, which is into mobile Internet covering music, reading, video streaming, animation and gaming.

The park has become a key base for the country's animation industry. The animation center of China Telecom Corp Ltd is also situated in the park.

In 2014, the number of enterprises with revenue reaching 100 million yuan or more each was 84, and their collective revenue reached 27.57 billion yuan.

"We are making efforts to build an innovative area. We aim to provide diverse public services to entrepreneurs," said Meng.