Millions of faces and car license plates were stored in a sizable Chinese database that was publicly accessible for months before it was silently removed in August.
A tech business called Xinai Electronics with headquarters in Hangzhou on China’s east coast is the owner of the disclosed data. In China, the firm creates systems for regulating entry for people and cars to workplaces, schools, construction sites, and parking lots. Its website boasts the use of facial recognition for a variety of uses beyond building access, including personnel management, such as payroll, monitoring employee attendance and performance, while its cloud-based vehicle license plate recognition system enables drivers to pay for parking in unattended garages that are managed by staff remotely.
In addition to other personal information like the person’s name, age, and sex, the database also included links to high-resolution photos of faces, including those of construction workers entering construction sites and office visitors checking in. Resident ID numbers are China’s equivalent of national identity cards. The database also contained information on the license plates of vehicles that were captured by Xinai cameras at parking lots, driveways, and other workplace entryways.
