China database lists personal information of 1.8 mn women

Beijing, March 11 : An open database in China contains the personal information of more than 1.8 million women, including their phone numbers, addresses and a "BreedReady" status which could describe whether a woman has children or was of child-bearing age, according to a researcher.

Victor Gevers, a Dutch Internet expert from the non-profit group GDI.Foundation, found the insecure data cache while searching for open databases in China, the Guardian reported on Monday.

The database included fields labelled in English for sex, age, education, marital status, as well as a column titled "BreedReady".

It is not clear whether the database is related to a dating app, government registry or another organisation or company.

Gevers, who also identified a database maintained by a surveillance company tracking at least 2.5 million residents in Xinjiang, said he was still taking samples and working on verifying the data.

"More than this, we don't have at the moment. Our primary concern is that it gets secured ASAP," he told the Guardian.

The average age of women in the database was 32, with the youngest being 15, he said. Almost 90 per cent of included entries were described single and 82 per cent were listed as living in Beijing.

The database also included fields labelled "political" as well as links to what appear to be Facebook profile pages.

Facebook is blocked in China and can only be accessed through virtual private networks.