CNKI photo:IC

China on Friday launched a cybersecurity review of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the country's largest academic research database, in an effort aimed at "preventing national data security risks, maintaining national security, and protecting the public interest," said an official from the country's cybersecurity review office on Friday.

CNKI was reportedly holding "a huge amount of" personal information and important data in key industries such as national defense, telecommunications, transport natural resources, health and finance, as well as other sensitive data covering major projects, important scientific and technological achievements, and key technological developments.

The office has summoned the company for talks, and announced the launch of a cybersecurity review into the firm. 

The review came weeks after the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) launched an antitrust investigation into CNKI in May. Tsinghua Tongfang Co, a Chinese state-owned software firm based in Beijing and the parent company of CNKI, said it will fully comply with the investigation. 

CNKI is one of the largest Chinese academic information gateway websites. It came under fire in April when China's top research group, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said it would suspend its use of CNKI due to the service's high subscription fees.

CNKI has over 1,600 institutional customers overseas in 60 countries and regions, in addition to 32,000 institutional customers from various industries in the Chinese mainland. Core users include top universities, research institutes, government think-tanks, enterprises, hospitals and public libraries.

Global Times