Foreigners Flagged

 5,000 Foreigners Flagged by China in Advanced Surveillance Sweep: Data Leak - The Epoch Times

More than 5,000 foreigners were tracked during visits to mainland China between 2017 and 2018, according to the latest data leak from a Chinese institution. Some individuals on the list say they were only in China for a day or were transiting through Shanghai. One cybersecurity expert says the latest data leak is unique in its increased sophistication, the fact a local bureau was involved in surveillance, and the use of facial recognition.

The information was compiled by the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, a local level branch of Beijing’s main surveillance body, the Ministry of Public Security. The data leak contains more than 1.1 million surveillance records and includes information on 25,000 “persons of interest” in China, and 5,000 foreigners, including government officials as well as employees of Mitsubishi and U.S. manufacturing giant 3M.

Hackers found the unprotected database, named “Uyghur Terrorist,” on an open-source platform and provided it to Australian security officials, media organizations, and Canberra-based cybersecurity firm Internet 2.0, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC). The information compiled by China’s Public Security Bureau (PSB) included facial and vehicle recognition photos, immigration data, reports from informants, and the passport details and pictures of foreigners, which was collected when they traveled to Shanghai in 2017.