Express Investigation Part-2: End user key, govt looks at ‘depth’ of data mined by China

Sources said that while many companies collect personal data of similar nature by scraping open source platforms, given that this involves a Chinese firm which works with the military and security agencies, the government is concerned about the end use and the end user.

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Earlier in the day, Congress raised the issue of surveillance of prominent Indian personalities in both Houses of Parliament.

Taking note of The Indian Express investigation of a Shenzhen firm with links to the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party which is monitoring thousands of individuals, the Indian security establishment, directly dealing with cyber security, is evaluating the depth of data being collected and the risks it may pose to national security.

Top government officials said an assessment is being prepared for National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. “While the reports clearly state the scale of the operation, we are more concerned about its depth — to what level of detail the Chinese firm is profiling individuals in terms of data points, the financial investment in hardware facilitated by its partners, and the need for upgrading cyber hygiene at our end,” said a top official.

READ | Express Investigation Part-2: New economy under Chinese watch — Tech start-ups, range of apps from payment to healthcare

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Simultaneously, the revelations are being discussed at the level of ministries concerned, including the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY), which has a specialised division on cyber laws and e-security. “We are analysing the scope of the operation. Since it involves the President and the Prime Minister, the political establishment has to take a call on what the government’s response should be,” said an official who did not wish to be named.

Sources said that while many companies collect personal data of similar nature by scraping open source platforms, given that this involves a Chinese firm which works with the military and security agencies, the government is concerned about the end use and the end user. “In itself, granular data may not be revelatory but tracked over a few years, 24 by 7, using sophisticated tools of analysis, open source data on an individual can be a great information asset. More so, if he or she is a top official or in a strategic setting,” said an official. “We need to go through the entire list and identify cyber hygiene issues.”

READ | Express Investigation Part-2: Under China’s watch — J&K to North-East, Rijiju to Mufti, many CMs in between

The Indian Express had on Monday reported that at least 10,000 Indian individuals and organisations from politics to business, judiciary to media, even crime accused, are being monitored real time online by big data firm Zhenhua Data that caters to the Chinese government and the People’s Liberation Army.

Kaunain Sheriff M

Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies. With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health. His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award. Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time. Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More

P Vaidyanathan Iyer

P. Vaidyanathan Iyer is The Indian Express’s Managing Editor, and leads the newspaper’s reporting across the country. He writes on India’s political economy, and works closely with reporters exploring investigation in subjects where business and politics intersect. He was earlier the Resident Editor in Mumbai driving Maharashtra’s political and government coverage. He joined the newspaper in April 2008 as its National Business Editor in Delhi, reporting and leading the economy and policy coverage. He has won several accolades including the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award twice, the KC Kulish Award of Merit, and the Prem Bhatia Award for Political Reporting and Analysis. A member of the Pulitzer-winning International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Vaidyanathan worked on several projects investigating offshore tax havens. He co-authored Panama Papers: The Untold India Story of the Trailblazing Offshore Investigation, published by Penguin. ... Read More

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