Chinese censors working overtime to block information about database hack

Chinese authorities are going all out to block information about a hacker’s claim that they had stolen data of a billion residents from the Shanghai police database, reports say.

The anonymous internet user, “ChinaDan”, wrote last week on Breach Forums (an online cybercrime forum) that they have 23 terabytes of data on Chinese national citizens, which they would sell for 10 bitcoins (about $200,000).

As a sample, the hacker leaked the names, addresses, birthplace, national ID numbers and mobile numbers of 750,000 residents.

Viral effect

By Monday, the post had gone viral, and the Chinese government censors started working round the clock to ensure its citizens are not talking about this alleged breach.

Chinese social media posts that even mention the leak have been taken down. According to reports, at least one person with a large following was called in for questioning.

Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, and WeChat are already censoring hashtags containing “data leak” or “database breach”.