40% cyber security holes in social welfare system fixed

About 40 percent of internet security loopholes found in China's social welfare system have been repaired after a report published Wednesday morning said that the personal information of residents in more than 30 provinces and cities across China were vulnerable to leaks.

The report from the Xinhua-run online daily business news post, Economic Information, said that the holes leave citizens' personal information—including ID numbers, social welfare, household and medical information—almost completely open to the mercy of would-be hackers and identity thieves.

"Patching the Sky", a global platform that reports instances of data and internet security loopholes, has collected and delivered related information to China's information security authorities.

As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, 40 percent of the reported holes had been repaired, said Deng Huan from "Patching the Sky".

It is uncertain whether any data had been leaked or not before the security holes were closed, Deng added.

Cao Yue, a security expert at the National Information Security Engineering Technology Center, suggested that government departments and social insurance companies should seek out staff with data security expertise, who could help close these security loopholes.

China is in dire need of a solid accountability system to ensure data security among its government agencies, said Yan Ming, a high-ranking member in the Public Security Ministry.