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MSS warns of foreign espionage risks from personal information theft

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Aug 06, 2025 08:44 AM

China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) on Wednesday sounded the alarm over the risk of personal information theft through biometric identification technologies, warning that publicly disclosed cases have shown foreign spies stealing facial data to carry out close-targeted espionage against China.

The ministry made the remarks in an article published on its official WeChat account.

Riding the wave of the digital era, biometric identification technologies have advanced rapidly and seen widespread adoption for their accuracy and convenience. These technologies enable the swift collection, analysis, storage and recognition of facial features, fingerprints, irises, body shapes and gaits.

The MSS cautioned, however, that the risks of data leaks and theft behind such collection should not be underestimated.

Cases showed that foreign intelligence agencies have illegally stolen facial data from key targets, forged the information to obtain classified materials, and even infiltrated sensitive workplaces to conduct espionage, endangering national security, MSS said.

Moreover, a foreign company directly connected its fingerprint payment system to its corporate database, and due to poor management, hackers repeatedly breached the system, stealing information and causing severe data leaks.

The ministry warned that because iris patterns are highly stable, difficult to replicate, and possess exceptional precision and uniqueness, they are often used in high-security fields and have become prime targets for criminal exploitation.

Cases have shown that a foreign company used the issuance of cryptocurrency tokens as a pretext to scan and collect iris data from users worldwide, later transferring the data overseas and posing risks to both personal information security and national security.

The ministry sounded the alarm for the public to be cautious when providing biometric information, saying that when using facial, fingerprint or iris recognition technologies, individuals have the right to require data collectors or service providers to clearly explain how the data will be stored, processed and used, to review their privacy policies in detail, and to remain alert to excessive collection.