Experts advocate cybersecurity legislation

BEIJING -- Recent cases of illegal fund-raising through Internet peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms and telecommunications fraud have highlighted the need to facilitate cybersecurity legislation, legal experts said.

Yang Dong, deputy dean of the Law School of Renmin University of China, said huge risks lurk in the Internet sector, demanding institutional reform and crafting of a law.

China's court system handled a total of 1.42 million cases involving P2P lending in 2015, according to a report from the Supreme People's Court (SPC).

In one case, online P2P broker Ezubao was found to have cheated about 900,000 investors out of more than 50 billion yuan (around 7.7 billion U.S. dollars) through fake investment projects.

Illegal activities including cyber attacks and invasion also pose a threat to the infrastructure of key fields such as financing and national defense.

There were also reports of illegal disclosure and obtaining of personal information in China, in addition to online spreading of terrorism and pornography.

Cloud computing, big data, the Internet of Things, and other new technology and applications have complicated the online security situation, according to experts.

According to Ma Ding, dean of the cybersecurity school of the People's Public Security University of China, the personal information of citizens such as home address could be uncovered through big data analysis of their activities.

In the same fashion, confidential information related to the national economy could be revealed through the analysis of 100 million people, Ma said.

Ma's view was shared by Zhi Zhenfeng, a researcher with the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who said threats to the security of data and privacy are problems that must be solved.

According to Zhi, as Internet use continues to grow in China, home to about 700 million Internet users, a cybersecurity law should be in place to establish principles and direction for its development.

Legislative efforts on a cybersecurity law were stepped up starting in 2015, when a draft cybersecurity law was submitted to the top legislature for the first reading in June.

The 68-article draft law aims to "safeguard online sovereignty and national security." It also suggests mechanisms to guarantee the safety of Internet products and services, operations, network data, and information.

Noting the draft will be improved through input from the government, Internet companies and the public, Zhi said he hopes the legislation will be completed as soon as possible to ensure a secure path for the Internet to grow.