Unlike leaked passwords, people cannot change their names, birth dates, or national identity card numbers easily. Once this information enters the public domain, it remains compromised permanently. "Telecommunications Fraud" (电信诈骗)
Under China’s effective June 2021, storing unencrypted ID card numbers in a .bak file constitutes a significant compliance failure. Article 51 mandates strict technical measures to prevent leaks. A single shifenzheng.bak file discovered on a compromised server can lead to fines up to ¥50 million RMB (or 5% of previous year’s revenue) for the responsible entity.
Ensure all backups containing PII (Personally Identifiable Information) are encrypted.
For database administrators who prefer command-line tools or need to automate the restoration process, Transact-SQL (T-SQL) commands provide a powerful alternative. As documented in technical blogs, a common approach involves a two-step process using RESTORE commands:
In October 2013, the Chinese internet was rocked by a massive data leak. A file named shifenzheng.bak began circulating online, which was quickly identified as a SQL Server database backup. It contained what was widely reported as the personal information of approximately 20 million hotel guests across China. This event served as a watershed moment for public awareness of data privacy and security.
Before the era of cloud synchronization, small hotels and internet cafes in China used standalone Windows XP or Windows 7 PCs with local databases (often Paradox or early MySQL). To avoid data loss during power outages, the guest registration software would automatically generate a shifenzheng.bak in the installation directory every time a guest checked in. Because system administrators rarely cleaned these folders, the .bak files accumulated thousands of plaintext ID cards over years of operation.
At first glance, the name raises immediate red flags. "Shifenzheng" (身份证) is the Chinese pinyin for "Identity Card" – specifically, the national ID card mandatory for every Chinese citizen over the age of 16. The .bak extension signifies a backup. When combined, this file appears to be a backup of ID card information. But what is it actually? A malicious artifact? A software remnant? A forensic goldmine?
Do not attempt to read or download the file over the public internet first. If using an Apache server, modify your .htaccess file, or update your Nginx configuration to deny all public requests to .bak files:
: 18-digit unique identifiers containing a citizen's birth date, regional origin, and gender.
