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Hacker Claims to Have Stolen 1 Bln Records of Chinese Citizens from Police

People, wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, walk past a barrier on a street on a border between Shanghai and Jiangsu Province in Shanghai, China July 1, 2022. (Reuters)
People, wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, walk past a barrier on a street on a border between Shanghai and Jiangsu Province in Shanghai, China July 1, 2022. (Reuters)
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Hacker Claims to Have Stolen 1 Bln Records of Chinese Citizens from Police

People, wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, walk past a barrier on a street on a border between Shanghai and Jiangsu Province in Shanghai, China July 1, 2022. (Reuters)
People, wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, walk past a barrier on a street on a border between Shanghai and Jiangsu Province in Shanghai, China July 1, 2022. (Reuters)

A hacker has claimed to have procured a trove of personal information from the Shanghai police on one billion Chinese citizens, which tech experts say, if true, would be one of the biggest data breaches in history.

The anonymous internet user, identified as "ChinaDan", posted on hacker forum Breach Forums last week offering to sell the more than 23 terabytes (TB) of data for 10 bitcoin, equivalent to about $200,000.

"In 2022, the Shanghai National Police (SHGA) database was leaked. This database contains many TB of data and information on Billions of Chinese citizen," the post said.

"Databases contain information on 1 Billion Chinese national residents and several billion case records, including: name, address, birthplace, national ID number, mobile number, all crime/case details."

Reuters was unable to verify the authenticity of the post.

The Shanghai government and police department did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.

Reuters was also unable to reach the self-proclaimed hacker, ChinaDan, but the post was widely discussed on China's Weibo and WeChat social media platforms over the weekend with many users worried it could be real.

The hashtag "data leak" was blocked on Weibo by Sunday afternoon.

Kendra Schaefer, head of tech policy research at Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China, said in a post on Twitter it was "hard to parse truth from rumor mill".

If the material the hacker claimed to have come from the Ministry of Public Security, it would be bad for "a number of reasons", Schaefer said.

"Most obviously it would be among the biggest and worst breaches in history," she said.

Zhao Changpeng, CEO of Binance, said on Monday the cryptocurrency exchange had stepped up user verification processes after the exchange's threat intelligence detected the sale of records belonging to 1 billion residents of an Asian country on the dark web.

He said on Twitter that a leak could have happened due to "a bug in an Elastic Search deployment by a (government) agency", without saying if he was referring to the Shanghai police case. He did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

The claim of a hack comes as China has vowed to improve protection of online user data privacy, instructing its tech giants to ensure safer storage after public complaints about mismanagement and misuse.

Last year, China passed new laws governing how personal information and data generated within its borders should be handled.

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Technology

Saudi Arabia, UNESCO, ICAIRE Call for Stronger International Cooperation on AI Ethics

The meeting was co-chaired by President of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) and Chairman of the ICAIRE Board Dr. Abdullah Alghamdi, representing Saudi Arabia, and UNESCO Deputy Director-General Åsa Regnér - SPA
The meeting was co-chaired by President of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) and Chairman of the ICAIRE Board Dr. Abdullah Alghamdi, representing Saudi Arabia, and UNESCO Deputy Director-General Åsa Regnér - SPA
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Saudi Arabia, UNESCO, ICAIRE Call for Stronger International Cooperation on AI Ethics

The meeting was co-chaired by President of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) and Chairman of the ICAIRE Board Dr. Abdullah Alghamdi, representing Saudi Arabia, and UNESCO Deputy Director-General Åsa Regnér - SPA
The meeting was co-chaired by President of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) and Chairman of the ICAIRE Board Dr. Abdullah Alghamdi, representing Saudi Arabia, and UNESCO Deputy Director-General Åsa Regnér - SPA

Saudi Arabia, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the International Center for AI Research and Ethics (ICAIRE) issued a joint international statement following a closed ministerial meeting held on Tuesday in Riyadh as part of the Fourth UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

It was hosted by Saudi Arabia from September 14 to 17, 2026, and attended by more than 60 ministers and international representatives from around the world.

The meeting was co-chaired by President of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) and Chairman of the ICAIRE Board Dr. Abdullah Alghamdi, representing Saudi Arabia, and UNESCO Deputy Director-General Åsa Regnér.

Alghamdi welcomed the Kingdom's guests to the forum and commended the constructive cooperation between Saudi Arabia and UNESCO across various fields for the benefit of peoples worldwide, particularly in AI, a rapidly evolving sector driven by global technological advancements.

According to the statement, he meeting featured substantive discussions among ministers and senior officials representing 60 countries on the opportunities and challenges presented by AI.

"Participants underscored the importance of strengthening international cooperation to ensure that the development, deployment, and use of AI contribute to human well-being, sustainable development, and the public good. They also reaffirmed the importance of continuing to be guided by the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, adopted in 2021, as the global normative framework that provides a common foundation for the ethical, safe, inclusive, and sustainable development, deployment, and use of AI."

Participants further commended UNESCO's leadership in AI governance and encouraged the organization to further support member states in developing national strategies informed by its frameworks, while accounting for differing national contexts and capacities, as well as cultural and linguistic diversity.

On bridging gaps, the statement said participants emphasized the importance of international cooperation, intercultural dialogue, and mutual learning, particularly amid rapid technological advancement and a complex global environment.

"They underscored the role of multilateral cooperation in fostering trust and inclusive participation in the development and governance of AI technologies, with the active involvement of women and youth. They also stressed the importance of addressing the needs of developing countries, particularly in Africa, and bridging gaps in access to AI capabilities and infrastructure."

Regarding infrastructure, the participants highlighted the importance of strengthening infrastructure, institutional capacity, skills, and knowledge sharing as fundamental pillars for ensuring the safe and ethical use of AI, while emphasizing the need to enhance cooperation among governments, international organizations, academia, the private sector, and civil society to address challenges that transcend national borders.

"The meeting co-chairs welcomed the spirit of dialogue and cooperation that characterized the ministers' discussions and called on member states and all stakeholders to strengthen implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence," the statement read.

They emphasized the importance of supporting international cooperation to develop and deploy AI in an ethical, safe, and sustainable manner, while safeguarding cultural and linguistic diversity and respecting national priorities and contexts, and "also stressed the importance of fostering dialogue and knowledge-sharing among diverse stakeholders to ensure broad access to the benefits of AI technologies, promoting responsible innovation, and addressing potential risks in ways that uphold human rights and dignity."

The meeting highlighted the need to promote AI literacy, empower children and youth, facilitate their participation in AI governance, and protect their rights and safety in the digital environment.

Technology

Governments Worldwide Are Way Behind on AI, Says Bill Gates

Microsoft's Bill Gates attends a dinner with President Donald Trump in the State Dining Room of the White House, Sept. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Microsoft's Bill Gates attends a dinner with President Donald Trump in the State Dining Room of the White House, Sept. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
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Governments Worldwide Are Way Behind on AI, Says Bill Gates

Microsoft's Bill Gates attends a dinner with President Donald Trump in the State Dining Room of the White House, Sept. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Microsoft's Bill Gates attends a dinner with President Donald Trump in the State Dining Room of the White House, Sept. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

No government in the world is ready for the changes artificial intelligence will bring to society, Bill Gates said in an interview with Reuters, as he warned of the risks ahead.

The Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist had until recently been optimistic about AI, but has changed his position, warning of the threats to jobs, concerns about attacks and the dangers of addiction to AI companions.

“I don't think any government is nearly as deep on this as they have to be,” he said. However, he added that the technology has great ‌potential to ‌help the world's poorest if managed properly and accessed equally — and ‌his ⁠namesake foundation said on ⁠Tuesday that it plans to spend at least $1 billion in the next two years on expanding access to AI.

Gates said he has been talking to world leaders about his concerns, including President Donald Trump and his team in the US, and said he aims to meet China’s President Xi Jinping later this year.

“Governments are way behind on this one,” he added.

HEALTH POTENTIAL

But despite his concerns, Gates and his foundation hope AI can help narrow gaps between the ⁠richest and poorest, rather than widening them.

The foundation's $1 billion spending plan, ‌part of its previously announced plans to spend $9 billion ‌annually, will go to partners working in education, healthcare and agriculture, the foundation said. It also aims ‌to help build the data foundations AI is built on, such as ensuring that ‌large language models work in every language people speak.

“For health it’s hard to overstate what the potential is,” Gates said, from supporting frontline health care workers to discovering new drugs and vaccines.

But he said governments must work together to avoid problems, likening the arrival of AI to a disaster movie.

“There’s ‌all sorts of movies where some aliens are coming, and magically the US and China and everybody comes together to solve the ⁠problem,” he said. “AI ⁠is kind of like this alien intelligence. It’s here, and we better do like it shows in those movies.”

REPUTATIONAL HIT?

In June, Gates appeared in front of Congress to testify about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Gates, who is not accused of any crimes, has repeatedly said he regrets his association with Epstein, who he hoped would donate to global health causes. Instead, the financier attempted to blackmail Gates over his extramarital affairs.

However, despite prompting an external review at his foundation, which found no payments to Epstein or participation in criminal activities, Gates said the links had not caused him or the foundation a significant reputational hit.

“In terms of having access to government leaders, or you know, journalists being willing to interview me, I don't see any diminishment,” he said, adding that the desire to draw on the foundation’s expertise to cut child deaths and end malaria had also not reduced “even one iota”.

Technology

Ex-Google DeepMind Researcher Adds to Warnings That AI Could ‘Kill All Humans’

An AI (artificial intelligence) logo is pictured at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 27, 2024. (AFP)
An AI (artificial intelligence) logo is pictured at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 27, 2024. (AFP)
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Ex-Google DeepMind Researcher Adds to Warnings That AI Could ‘Kill All Humans’

An AI (artificial intelligence) logo is pictured at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 27, 2024. (AFP)
An AI (artificial intelligence) logo is pictured at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 27, 2024. (AFP)

A former Google DeepMind ‌employee on Monday became the latest AI researcher to warn that the technology could "kill all humans", saying time could be running out to avoid the outcome.

Public alarm about the potential danger posed by AI is growing, after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon said last week he had resigned, in part because the "people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade."

Anthropic scientist Evan Hubinger then responded ‌to Coxon's comments, ‌saying he was correct and that ‌he ⁠believed there was ⁠a greater than 10% chance that AI could kill all humans within the next decade.

"I recently resigned from Google DeepMind, where I worked on AGI safety and alignment research," Bilal Chughtai wrote on X. "I earnestly believe that AI has the potential to kill ⁠us all, and that we might be ‌running out of time ‌to avoid this outcome."

Chughtai, who co-authored research papers while ‌at Google DeepMind, worked there as a research engineer ‌and left the company in July 2026, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Google did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

Following recent concerns, Anthropic CEO ‌Dario Amodei called for a slowdown in the pace of advanced AI development over ⁠the weekend, winning ⁠rare backing from SpaceXAI's Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and sparking a debate over AI "doomerism."

Chughtai also said that navigating AI safely was possible but would require coordination "to avoid this manic race between AI companies."

"We need to pace AI development to a speed that society can handle, where emerging risks can be addressed before extreme harm is realized," he added.

President Donald Trump, however, has dismissed the warnings, saying on social media the AI industry's call for regulation is a "hoax."