Chinese CNCERT expresses concerns over over-collection of user data

According to TechWire Asia, China’s National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team said that app developers need to re-evaluate the amount of data collected from their users. In its half-yearly report, the agency identified a significant number of mobile apps that need to rectify the issue of over-collection, and called for a national response to address the problem, as the country’s 800 million mobile users migrate to online platforms for their shopping needs. According to IAPP, the report of the agency states that ‘a large number of apps exhibit abnormal behaviour, such as detecting other apps or reading and writing user device files, posing a potential security threat to the user’s information security’.