Security platform set up to quell illegal courier activities
A logistics security service platform has been set up with courier service partners to help crack down on illegal activities in the courier industry.
Alibaba's logistics affiliate, Cainiao Network, set up the platform in collaboration with the Internet Security branch of Qingpu District Public Security Bureau.
Deputy captain of the branch, Lu Xiaofeng, said logistics and courier firms face challenges from both inside and out, such as Internet security breaches and internal data leaks.
He estimates that the courier and logistics industry suffered from more than 10,000 data hacks in the past year.
Cainiao Network said it hopes to join hands with police forces to allow logistics and courier companies to step up their data security measures, and to build new models and preventative mechanisms to detect illegal activities in advance.
China Post and Deppon Logistics are among the first batch of courier companies to join the service platform.
China's courier industry has enjoyed more than 40 percent annual growth in the past ten years and handled more than 40 billion packages last year, which equals the total number of couriers in the US, Japan and the European Union combined.
However, illegal dealings involving data breaches and the collection and theft of personal information is also quickly growing, reaching an estimated value of more than 100 billion yuan, with more than 1.5 million practitioners.
Data leaks may happen under various circumstances, such as at warehouses, delivery service stations or through courier service personnel.