Security News > 2022 > June > Beijing probes security at academic journal database

China's internet regulator has launched an investigation into the security regime protecting academic journal database China National Knowledge Infrastructure, citing national security concerns.

CNKI is a privately-owned publishing company that maintains a monopoly on academic journal searches in China.

China's antitrust watchdog, the State Administration for Market Regulation launched an antitrust probe into the outfit last May. According to state-sponsored media Global Times, CNKI has over 1600 institutional customers and includes 90 percent of published journals in mainland China.

Forty percent of the material on the site is exclusive to CNKI. Beijing has not explained why the security review is necessary, but it is not hard to imagine that CKMI hosts papers that discuss national security matters, or data that China's government would like to control.

China's move to secure its critical info comes as the nation is credibly accused of exploiting lax security to find other nations' info through means fair and foul.

In one recent case, China was accused of having a role in a US-based professor turning US-funded research into Chinese patents.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/06/27/beijing_investigates_cnki_security/