Data trafficking profits outweigh punishment

As the number of Chinese internet users continues to multiply, the country's legal system for protecting online personal information has lagged behind. The illegal trade of personal information is flourishing. CCTV reporter Wu Haojun takes a closer look at how such cyber criminal rings operate and why it's so difficult to root them out.

It was said to be the biggest case of personal information trafficking ever uncovered in China.

The ring dubbed itself the "China Resources Department" - a brazen yet appropriate title for a criminal organization that stored more than 150 million entries of personal information, ranging from phone numbers and addresses to real estate and flight records.

Zeng Zhizhong, ring leader, said, "Most of the time, we acquired raw data online, not face to face. The personal data were bought in bulk, usually according to region. We'd pay 500 to 1,000 yuan for a whole region's worth of data."

The group even had special categories for their so-called "high value" targets. A list of millionaires in China's eastern Zhejiang province could sell for double the normal price.

Prof. Zhou Hanhua with Institute of Law, CASS, said, "To be able to dig into personal data, to be able to know what your preferences are, what websites you've surfed and what you bought online, all of this information is extremely valuable to businesses. And that's why it's not easy to root out illegal trade of personal information."

While there's some truth to the Hollywood image of tech-savvy hackers running these cyber gangs, it's not as complicated as you think.

Convicted data thief Tang Nayu, for example, had no hacking skills. He was the director of Network Operations at one of China Unicom's Beijing branches. Tang offered confidential information to a private investigative service for 200 yuan per user. In just 4 month's time, he illegally earned 20,000 yuan, or around 33-hundred US dollars.

Tang is paying for what he did. But cases like his are few and far between.

Prof. Liu Deliang, Beijing Normal University, said, "Due to the limitations of current laws on the matter, the cost of resorting to the courts for victims of online personal data trafficking is too high. The chances of winning a case are small and the cost in money, time and energy often outweighs the compensation."

Professor Liu says in order to crack down on online data trafficking, more severe punishment is needed. And that means changing the way the crime is treated, not just as a violation of personal rights, but also economic ones.