Arrests Made As iPhone User Data Sold In China

When it comes to data security, the worry seems to usually revolve around hackers making off with your personal data. Today, however, we're learning once again that it may not only be hackers that we need to worry about, but rather the people who are tasked with maintaining the services our phones use and fixing our devices. Police in China have arrested 22 people suspected of illegally obtaining and selling data from Apple users. The difference here? Most of the people arrested are said to be Apple employees.

That's according to the Hong Kong Free Press, which reports on a statement obtained from police in China's southern Zhejiang province. Police say that 20 of the 22 people arrested were Apple employees who obtained customer data from Apple's internal systems. The data that was breached in this case includes names, phone numbers, Apple IDs, and "other data," though though the fate of more sensitive information like passwords wasn't listed.

While that may mean that these users are safe from from other people accessing data stored in iCloud, it's still concerning to hear that these employees are accused of then selling that information. Police say that in all, these employees made more than 50 million yuan ($7.36 million) by selling this information, charging anywhere between 10 yuan ($1.50) and 180 yuan ($26.50) per transaction.

We're not sure at this point just whose information was involved – whether it was just limited to Apple users in China or if it also involved theft from foreign users is up in the air. However, police did say that they were able to seize these employees' "criminal tools," though it's unclear what those tools are.

As the Hong Kong Free Press points out, selling personal information that belongs to consumers is fairly common in China, but it's still worrying that those who have access to such information would turn around and sell it on the black market. Even more concerning is that when it's Apple employees (or even employees who work with a third-party company that has access), there doesn't seem to be a whole lot you can do to prevent it. We'll see if anything more comes of this story, so stay tuned.

SOURCE: Hong Kong Free Press