An investigation conducted by The Indian Express has found that a Chinese company, Zhenhua Data Information Technology Co. Limited, has monitored and amassed information on more than 10,000 Indian citizens, 35,000 Australians and 50,000 Americans, for inclusion in a global database of influential figures.
Zhenhua, which as links to the Chinese Communist Party, scrapes information from the internet and social media platforms, for what it calls person information and relationship mining: networks among individuals, institutions and organizations, and changes in their leadership positions based on information from multiple sources.
The information seems to be used for “hybrid warfare,” the use of unconventional methods as part of a multi-faceted war fighting approach. The methods look to disrupt and disable an opponent’s actions without engaging in open hostiles.
They have known to include tactics like disinformation, economic manipulation, use of proxies and insurgencies, diplomatic pressure and military actions.
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