The Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) has warned that a foreign crypto company collects Iris scan data under the guise of tokend distribution, which expresses serious concern about personal and national security.
In a statement of 5 August, the ministry revealed that the company collects Iris data from users worldwide and sending to an overseas database. Authorities did not mention the company, but they warned that the biometric information could be used if it fell into the wrong hands.
The MSS emphasized that Iris data, like other forms of biometric information, could be used for identity theft, fraud and illegal surveillance as soon as they leaked.
Civil servants mentioned recent examples, including a foreign company whose fingerprint payment system was compromised due to weak security controls. Allegedly, hackers have access to sensitive user data by violating the company’s internal systems.
According to the ministry, there is increasing evidence that foreign intelligence services are concerned with unauthorized collection of facial and biometric data. These actors are said to falsify such data to gain access to secure environments and monitoring activities.
The MSS noted that this is a growing risk for the national security of China.
In view of this, the authorities emphasized that Chinese law offers strict guarantees around biometric data, including face and iris recognition technologies.
The MSS urged both citizens and organizations to comply with existing legal frameworks. It also encouraged the public to stay alert and to report suspicious activities for collecting data.
Worldcoin suspected
While the Chinese Ministry avoids the company directly, the description is closely matched to Worldcoin, which has now been renamed as the world.
The project scans the irises of users in exchange for WLD -Tokens, a practice that is already being investigated in several areas of law.
In the past year, Sam Altman, supported by Sam Altman, has registered significant growth by scanning the irises of more than 10 million people worldwide. At the same time, the company has also been expanded to countries such as the United States and Malaysia.
However, the activities have caused the investigation into Colombia, Germany, Hong Kong, South Korea and Indonesia.
Authorities in those regions have increased red flags about violations of data protection, non-compliance with privacy laws and a lack of transparency.
In the meantime, Worldcoin has continued to emphasize its commitment to legal compliance, hashed data and the high standards of users’ privacy protection.