China premier stresses data security after alleged leak affecting 1 billion Chinese residents triggers concerns

  • Premier Li Keqiang called on government bodies to ‘defend information security’, which has become a rising concern as authorities collect more citizen data
  • The comments come after what could be the largest ever data leak for China, with data sets showing names, birth dates, ID numbers and other sensitive information

A person on a hacker forum claimed to be selling data on 1 billion Chinese citizens stolen from Shanghai police servers. The size of the leak spurred online discussions that were quickly censored. Photo: Shutterstock

Premier Li Keqiang stressed the importance of information security at a State Council meeting on Wednesday, a message that has taken on new urgency in the wake of an alleged data leak of 1 billion Chinese residents.

Chinese government bodies must “defend information security … to protect personal information, privacy and confidential corporate information” so people can feel secure when submitting data for certain public services, according to a statement summarising the cabinet meeting.

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