A tech firm with ties to Beijing is reportedly monitoring over 10,000 Indians

---

A Chinese company with links to Beijing has mined detailed personal information of more than 10,000 Indians including government officials prominent politicians and industrialists, an investigation by The Indian Express newspaper has revealed. Shenzhen-based Zhenhua Data Information Technology, which reportedly calls itself a pioneer in using big data for hybrid warfare non-military warfare comprising of the political, economic and technological has compiled a global database of foreign targets using information from the web and social media platforms, research papers, articles, patents, and more.

The targets in India reportedly include president Ram Nath Kovind, prime minister Narendra Modi, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, chief of defence staff Bipin Rawat, and at least 60 senior serving and retired officers of the military. The list also includes state chief and cabinet ministers, mayors, sarpanches (village council heads), and legislators, at least 1,350 politicians and lawmakers are on the list.

Top scientists across apex bodies for nuclear power, atomic energy, and space research were on the radar, too. As were industrialists Ratan Tata and Gautam Adani, startup entrepreneurs Nipun Mehra (founder of fintech app BharatPe), bureaucrats, judges, academicians, journalists, actors, sportspersons, religious figures, and activists.

The company describes its activities as hybrid warfare and counts among its clients, the Chinese military and intelligence. It has sold services for military, security and foreign propaganda to domestic institutions in China including the government and security services. The data, purportedly trawled since 2017, includes biographies, family maps, and records of social media posts.