A massive data breach impacting residents in China has been reported, potentially exposing the personal information of up to one billion individuals. This incident involves an estimated four billion records, making it one of the largest data leaks ever publicly known globally. The compromised data allegedly includes highly sensitive details such as names, addresses, national identification numbers, phone numbers, and even birthplaces. The source of this colossal leak is reported to be linked to the Shanghai National Police database, a concerning development for the security of citizen data held by authorities. Speculation suggests the breach may have resulted from a misconfigured server or exposed developer credentials. The exposed dataset was reportedly offered for sale online for 10 Bitcoin. This event underscores critical vulnerabilities in managing vast digital repositories and raises profound concerns about privacy, security, and trust in the handling of personal information on a national scale. The potential consequences for the affected population, including risks of identity theft and fraud, are substantial.
Source: https://securityaffairs.com/178744/data-breach/experts-found-4-billion-user-records-online-the-largest-known-leak-of-chinese-personal-data-from-a-single-source.html
