Hong Kong, Aug 13 (IANS): Chinese law enforcement agencies have closed a record 36,000 personal data breach cases and detained 64,000 suspects in the last three years, the media reported.

According to China's Ministry of Public Security, the efforts were aimed at combating cybercrime and protecting citizens' privacy, reports Global Times.

"More than 30 million illegal SIM cards and 300 million illegal internet accounts have also been seized," said the ministry.

The cases involved a wide range of industries, including government, healthcare, education, real estate, logistics, and e-commerce. Reported criminal cases involving artificial intelligence (AI) has also been increasing, said the ministry.

It cited an April 2023 incident, in which a company in the Fujian province lost 4.3 million yuan ($596,510) to hackers who used AI to alter their faces.

"With the wide application of face recognition tech and the progress of AI tech, face recognition-related crimes have also occurred," the report mentioned.

Since 2020, more than 2,300 "moles within industries" such as telecom operators, hospitals, insurance companies, real estate, property, express delivery companies and other sectors have been arrested, it added. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) recently published draft laws that dealt specifically with facial recognition technology. It marked the first time nationwide regulations had been mooted for the technology, according to Global Times.