40,000 YuanTong Employee Records Leaked... Sold at 1 Yuan Each
National People's Congress Reviewing Personal Information Protection Law, Overhauling Weak Legal System
[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] A personal information leak incident involving 400,000 cases occurred at 'Yuantong Express,' one of China's largest courier companies.
On the 26th, according to China's state-run Global Times and Zhongyangwang, internal employees of Yuantong colluded to extract 400,000 customer personal information records and sold them externally.
The Shanghai Municipal Cyberspace Administration recently confirmed this fact and instructed Yuantong to reorganize its courier waybill data management system.
Also, the Handan City police in Hebei Province arrested six suspects and will soon prosecute them for 'personal information infringement,' Chinese media reported.
The suspects were found to have stolen employee IDs to extract customer personal information recorded on waybills and sold them at 1 yuan (approximately 168 KRW) per case.
The Global Times warned that the customer personal information was sold to regions with a high incidence of telecom fraud, urging caution.
Chinese media also reported on loopholes in China's Personal Information Protection Law.
The Global Times pointed out that while penalties for individuals who leak or sell personal information are clearly stipulated in Chinese criminal law, there are no clear legal provisions to hold companies accountable when their employees commit crimes using their work.
The Global Times cited legal experts emphasizing that companies should also be held responsible for personal information leaks, highlighting the importance of information security and the need to expand technological investments for personal information protection.
China.org.cn pointed out that the legal basis for personal information protection in China is scattered across various laws and regulations.
To address this issue, it explained that the draft of the Personal Information Protection Law (a specialized personal information protection law) is currently under review by the National People's Congress.
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