SenseNets facial recognition data breach reveals Beijing Uyghur surveillance
A major data breach involving Chinese facial recognition company SenseNets exposed personal information of over 2.5 million individuals. Discovered by security researcher Victor Gevers, t he leaked database contained sensitive data such as ID card numbers, home addresses, birth dates, and real-time location tracking data. It had been unprotected online, allowing anyone to access it without authentication. The exposed data included more than 6.8 million location logs from the previous 24 hours, exposing the extensive surveillance capabilities of SenseNets' technology. The locations tracked included various public and private spaces, such as police stations, hotels, and mosques, raising concerns about the implications for privacy and security, particularly for the Uyghur population in Xinjiang. SenseNets did not comment publicly on the breach and its website went offline. The company said it would conduct an internal investigation following the discovery of the data exposure, which had been accessible since at least July 2018. Gevers had previously alerted the company about the vulnerability but received no response. The incident prompted questins about SenseNets' security, links with Chinese state security, and honesty and integrity. Persecution of Uyghurs in China Since 2014, the Chinese government has committed a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang which has often been characterized as persecution or as genoci de. Source: Wikipedia System 🤖 Dynamic Face Recognition System 🔗 Operator: Developer: Netposa Technologies/ SenseNets Country: China Sector: Govt - police; Govt - security Purpose: Identify Uyghurs Technology: Facial recognition Issue: Dual/multi-use; Privacy; Security; Surveillance
- Date it happened
- 2019-02-01
- Organisation involved
- Netposa Technologies/SenseNets
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