China social security info leak may affect millions

The personal information of tens of millions of people is at risk of being leaked after loopholes were found in social security systems in almost every province across China, a report showed Wednesday.

According to the report of the Economic Information Daily, a news outlet under the Xinhua News Agency, more than 50 million loopholes in information security management were found in social security systems in more than 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities on the Chinese mainland.

The personal information vulnerable to hacking includes ID numbers, social security information, financial conditions, income and house ownership, said the report citing data acquired from loudong.360.cn, an online platform that helps companies seek security solutions with rewards.

The loopholes were also found in information security management in household registration systems, disease prevention and control systems, and hospitals. Loudong.360.cn has reported the data about the loopholes to relevant authorities.

Experts said the information leak is able to cause huge economic loss and lead to crime.

If the personal information such as ID numbers are leaked, they may be used to commit economic crimes such as applying for credit cards with stolen identities, said Denghuan, an expert with loudong.360.cn.

The personal information registered in social security systems constitutes an important reference for a country's macro-economic management, and if they are leaked or falsified, the consequences could be serious, said Yan Ming, the head of The Third Research Institute of Ministry of Public Security.

Tighter supervision, greater awareness and increased investment in security are necessary to plug the loopholes effectively.

"The loopholes prove that local social security authorities have a lot of work to do in increasing investment in information security management and tightening supervision over loopholes," said Yan Ming.

Yan added that China is far behind the developed countries in investment in information security management and training of professional talents, and if the situation remains unchanged, more loopholes will be exposed in the future.

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