4,800 held in China since March for stealing personal data

Police have arrested more than 4,800 suspects nationwide since March for stealing personal information, the Ministry of Public Security said.

In the more than four months of operations, police said they had resolved more than 1,800 cases involving some 50 billion pieces of stolen personal information, according to a statement released on Monday.

The main source of stolen data was staff at companies and public institutions illegally obtaining and selling information, the ministry said, but there was a growing trend of hackers stealing data from internet enterprises and service providers.

Police said that some of the stolen personal data was used by other criminals for targeted fraud or extortion.

A report yesterday by Shanghai internet outlet Thepaper.cn illustrates the internal risks faced by mainland companies.