Why do personal information leaks occur frequently?

 With the widespread use of the mobile Internet, the number of apps launched and used on app stores has grown exponentially. Following this, there is an increasing incidence of illegal collection and use of personal information. A few days ago in China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology website announced the app notification on violations of user rights (the seventh batch in 2020). As of the time of the notification, there are still 63 apps involved in “violating the collection of personal information” that have not yet been rectified.

It is reported that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China has organized a special rectification action for mobile applications (Apps) infringing users' rights and interests for two consecutive years. It has conducted technical inspections on 520,000 apps, ordered 1,571 models that violate regulations to be rectified, publicly notified 500 models, and rectified 120 models. Orders that are not in place and refuse to make corrections are ordered to be removed.

Your personal information security may be under threat

The App collects personal information in violation of laws and regulations mentioned in the above notification, mainly manifested in the existence of compulsory authorization, excessive claims, and collection of personal information beyond the scope. Taking the collection of personal information beyond the scope as an example, many users may encounter such a situation, that is, when it is not necessary, the weather app requires access to the address book, and the fitness software requires authorization of the phone album... If the user refuses to accept the authorization , You will not be able to download or use the App normally.

In fact, not only some apps, but also SDKs that threaten the security of users’ personal information. This kind of plug-in that provides a certain function or service in mobile phone software can be described as an invisible “thief”. According to industry insiders, in addition to collecting user mobile phone numbers and device information, third-party SDKs also collect private information such as user mobile phone address books, SMS information, and sensor information. After collection, they will also be sent to a designated server for storage. Some SDKs will even collect and upload the content of the SMS in the user's mobile phone, and the SMS with the verification code will also be collected and uploaded. At this time, many people will look for a temporary phone number to register an account

In addition to the above-mentioned concealment methods, the reporter discovered that there are still many blatant threats that put personal information on the trading table.

On some well-known second-hand trading platforms, more than 20 personal private information such as personal household registration, real estate under the name, and travel records are publicly sold. Depending on the waiting time and difficulty of the information inquiries, the fee also fluctuates from a few hundred to a thousand yuan. Not only that, some information related inquiries have also become readily available here, “providing a mobile phone number to check the courier address, it’s definitely no problem to find someone.

In addition, with the widespread application of face recognition technology, issues such as the irregular collection and use of facial features and other biometric information have gradually been exposed, increasing the risk of "face" information leakage. Li Bin, a lawyer from the China Consumers Association's lawyers, said that facial information is undoubtedly more sensitive than personal information such as names, phone numbers, and consumption records, and the consequences of its leakage are much more serious.

Relevant legislation to protect citizens’ privacy is constantly improving

The "APP Personal Information Leakage Situation" published by the China Consumers Association mentioned that after personal information was leaked, about 86.5% of respondents had received harassment from sales calls or text messages, and about 75.0% of respondents received fraud By phone, about 63.4% of respondents received spam.

In order to protect the rights and interests of personal information, in July this year, the Central Cyberspace Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration for Market Supervision launched the 2020 App illegal collection and use of personal information management work, focusing on cracking down on the app backstage private upload of personal information and other public feedback Strong question. From October to December, 14 departments including the General Administration of Market Supervision jointly launched the 2020 online market supervision special action. One of the key tasks is to strengthen the supervision of second-hand goods online trading platforms.

In addition, in order to ensure national data security and strengthen the protection of personal information, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is working hard to study and formulate interim regulations on APP personal information protection, and continue to promote the formulation of industry standards and improve the functions of the APP detection technology platform system. The special rectification of APP infringement of user rights, which was originally scheduled to end in December this year, will be extended for another six months to the middle of next year.