China spying on millions around the world by harvesting personal details from the dark web

The Communist Party of China (CPC) is snooping on millions of people around the world by harvesting data from the dark web.

A Chinese company with links to Beijing's military and intelligence networks has been amassing a vast database of detailed personal information on thousands of Indians, Brits, Americans and Australians, including prominent and influential figures.

A database of 2.4 million people, including more than 35,000 Australians, has been leaked from the Shenzhen Company Zhenhua Data which is believed to be used by China's intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security.

Zhenhua has the People's Liberation Army and the Chinese Communist Party among its main clients.

This technology company, which is based in Shenzen, has been tracking at least 25 lakh people around the world — 10,000 Indians, 50,000 Americans, 40,000 British and 35,000 Australians.

The company views its mission as using big data for the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation". 

Its database includes names, dates of birth, education, job history and social media accounts. 

Much of this has been harvested from online sources.

These reports show how deep the Chinese have penetrated online systems internationally, the database report demonstrates that the depth and the breadth of Chinese surveillance could not be underestimated.

(With inputs from agencies)