China strengthens efforts to ensure cyber security

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China has called for the comprehensive detection of Internet risks and strengthened its efforts to punish criminal activities online as well as safeguard the order and security of cyberspace. The country has taken strict action to ensure online security since the Cyber Security Law went into effect on June 1st.

In August, Chongqing’s Public Security Bureau issued a warning to a local Internet data center company after it failed to retain the login information of a blog.

New regulations in September hold chat group creators and administrators legally responsible for the content posted in such groups, and Internet companies are required to establish systems of rating and scoring the online conduct of users.

In the same month, the cyberspace regulator fined social media platforms WeChat, Weibo and Tieba because users had "spread violence and terror, rumors, pornography, and other information that jeopardizes national security, public safety, and social order."

Authorities emphasized that Internet firms can only be competitive and enjoy greater development as long as they accept their social responsibility.

Gao Lin, Deputy Director of Cyber Security Coordination Bureau of Cyberspace Administration of China, said "protecting cyber security is an important responsibility of the entire society. Important industries, internet operating companies, experts, and web users should all work to implement the law.”

Gao Lin, Deputy Director of Cyber Security Coordination Bureau of Cyberspace Administration of China / CGTN Picture

By the end of 2016, more than 700 million Chinese people log on to the Internet to study, work, and access public services.

And the information-based economy accounts for an increasingly larger share of China's GDP.

China is a staunch defender of cyber security, but it has also become a victim of constant hacking attempts.

Personal information and core client data have become major targets.

Ren Yuxin, Tencent's COO, said "cybersecurity has become the nervous system of the digital economy. Last year, 18-hundred incidents of data leakage happened in China. And Chinese web users' economic losses caused by spam messages, data leakage and fraud messages reached nearly 91.5 billion yuan."

Ren Yuxin, Tencent COO/ CGTN Picture

Illegal activities, including cyber attacks and hacking, pose a threat to the information infrastructure of key fields such as finance and national defense. Experts said effective implementation of the cyber security law is crucial for China to safeguard its sovereignty on cyberspace, national security and the rights of citizens.