New Delhi, September 16: Two days after the nation learnt that over 10,000 individuals including key public figures were being monitored by a China-based organisation, the Centre has reportedly constituted a special committee to study the case and submit a report. The panel will be tasked to evaluate the implications of the data leak and assess whether privacy of Indians was violated. Zhenhua Data Leak: Here's All About the Snooping Activity by Chinese Firm on Over 10,000 Prominent Indian Personalities And Organisations.

The data leak case came to light after a network of international investigative journalists found Zhenhua Data, a Chinese firm based in Shenzhen, tracking a vast number of individuals across the world. The data collected through their monitoring operation was harvested at the Overseas Key Individual DataBase (OKIDB), built by Zhenhua.

In India, nearly 10,000 persons were tracked by the Chinese firm over the past few years. Those being monitored includes top business leaders, serving and former Prime Minister, incumbent and former chief ministers of several states and other influential personalities.

"Government of India has constituted an expert committee under the National Cyber Security Coordinator to study these reports, evaluate their implications, assess any violations of law and submit its recommendations within 30 days," sources linked to news agency ANI were reported as saying.

Update by ANI

Government of India is deeply concerned with any report that suggests that foreign sources are accessing or seeking to access the personal data of our citizens without their consent, the sources added.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has reportedly raised the issue of Chinese company Zhenhua Data Information Technology Co. which was allegedly spying on prominent Indians, with the Chinese Ambassador today. "China said that Zhenhua is a private company and stated its position publicly," the sources claimed.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 16, 2020 09:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).