data security Photo: VCG

China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) on Wednesday disclosed a typical case in which a foreign company illegally obtained raw surveying and mapping data of China's geographic information through an intelligent car project collaboration with a Chinese company. 

The ministry warned domestic companies of the security risks in collaborations with foreign companies.

As China's state security organs have in recent years intensified efforts to crack down on illegal surveying and mapping activities, some foreign organizations have gradually turned their eyes to the so-called project collaborations with domestic companies with surveying and mapping qualification so these foreign organizations can illegally collect China's geographic information. 

In the case, a foreign company, in collaboration with a Chinese company, conducted such illegal activities under the guise of research on autonomous driving systems. 

The foreign company is a project contractor in a key sensitive sector in a certain country. It does not have the qualifications to independently conduct geographic information surveying and mapping activities in China, as stipulated by China's Surveying and Mapping Law. 

In order to evade supervision from Chinese regulatory authorities, the foreign company, using the pretext of autonomous driving research, outsourced the project multiple times, eventually entrusting a qualified domestic company, to carry out the work. 

Driven by economic interests, the domestic company essentially became a puppet for the foreign company, and its surveying and mapping qualifications served as a front for the foreign company to illegally obtain geographic data within China's territory.

In order to rapidly collect large amounts of geographic data in China, the foreign company purchased multiple vehicles and equipped them with high-precision radar, GPS, optical lenses, and other devices, in a bid to increase efficiency and reduce the risk of detection by Chinese regulatory authorities.  

Moreover, the data collected by the company's equipment were stored in a unique format which could not be read or analyzed by common software, making it more difficult for industry regulators to conduct supervision. 

During their collaboration, the foreign company bypassed layers of project subcontracting and guided the domestic company's staff in the geographic data collecting in multiple provinces across China. The foreign company even assigned foreign technical experts to provide hands-on guidance to the domestic company's staff to control the data storage, processing and transferring. Eventually, the domestic company transferred the data overseas under the foreign company's manipulation. 

In a joint law enforcement action, the state security agencies and relevant departments held the personnel and companies involved to legal account. 

Global Times