Giant personal data hack embarrasses Beijing

“According to the relevant laws, rules and policies, the theme page cannot be displayed.» That’s what Weibo messaging has been implying in recent days when Chinese internet users type in the hashtag #DataLeak. A large army of censors set out to suppress news of the possibility Massive leak of personal data of 1 billion Chinese.

A hacker under the pseudonym “ChinaDan” claimed on June 30 to have a database of 23 terabytes of personal information. In addition to surnames, first names, dates of birth, phone numbers, addresses, the database contains ID card numbers and references to crimes and offenses reported to the police between 1997 and 2019. The database is offered for sale illegally. 10 Bitcoinsequivalent to $200,000 on July 5.

While security experts are wary of the size of the reported numbers — hackers often tend to exaggerate their exploits —…