Shenzhen AI Firm Silent After Unsecured Database Exposes Millions
A Dutch security researcher reveals that SenseNets leaves over 2.5 million personal records unprotected for months. The facial recognition company declines to comment while experts warn of severe security risks.
A Shenzhen-based facial recognition company called SenseNets stays quiet after a Dutch security researcher reveals that a massive database containing over 2.5 million people's personal information sits completely unprotected. The exposed data includes highly sensitive details such as ID card numbers, photographs, addresses, employer names, and real-time location tracking. SenseNets provides this facial recognition technology for police surveillance systems across multiple Chinese cities.
Victor Gevers of the non-profit GDI Foundation discovers the vulnerability and warns SenseNets about the unsecured database back in July, but the company never replies. Gevers publicly shares the breach on social media, noting that unauthorized visitors already access the system and some even claim to download copies of the leaked information. SenseNets briefly takes down its official website following the media reports and later locks the database behind a firewall.
Senior managers at the company's headquarters decline to speak with reporters, and an anonymous source reveals that SenseNets conducts a quiet internal investigation instead of issuing a public statement. Cybersecurity experts express serious concern that the exposure of this deeply personal information threatens the financial and personal safety of the millions of individuals caught in the leak.