“Double 11” has begun to warm up, and many people’s express packages are flying on the road. Compared with the joy of receiving the package, the personal information leakage caused by express delivery is a hidden worry for many people.Recently, express delivery sheets with personal information such as name, phone number, address, etc. were sold in bulk on the Internet at a clearly marked price, arousing social concern.
Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai, October 28thQuestion: It is difficult to promote express delivery privacy sheets. What is the crux of it?
Xinhua News Agency reporters He Xinrong and Yang Youzong
The reporter’s investigation found that the privacy sheet, which was born to protect user privacy, was not used on a large scale. On the one hand, this is because some consumers are not aware of checking or inconvenient to use when sending couriers. On the other hand, the use of privacy slips also adds extra workload to the couriers. Industry experts said that in addition to privacy orders, express companies also need to continue to strengthen internal information security management, and multi-pronged approach can protect the personal information of express users.
Low penetration rate: 17 express delivery and 14 useless privacy sheets
In a residential area on Yongjia Road, Shanghai, there is a courier shelf at the door. The courier places the courier on the express shelf after getting in touch with the recipient. When the recipient goes home, pick up his own courier by the way.
Recently, the reporter saw that there were 17 express items on the shelf and on the ground nearby, involving Shentong, Zhongtong, YTO, Yunda, SF Express,JingdongAnd many other courier companies. Among the 17 express delivery, only 3 express delivery slips from SF Express and JD.com conceal part of the recipient’s name and the middle 4 digits of the telephone number. For the remaining 14 express items, the recipient’s detailed address, personal name, and telephone number on the express note are all “naked.”
Express delivery placed at the entrance of a residential area in Shanghai (October 24, 2021). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Youzong
A commercial office space not far from the above-mentioned residential area is also equipped with a separate express delivery shelf. According to rough statistics, less than 30% of the express parcels on the shelf are used for privacy.
In order to protect personal privacy on the express, the recipients have their own magical powers. Miss Xiong, a white-collar worker, told reporters that she usually buys some snacks online to her workplace. In order to protect personal privacy, she did not fill in her real name in the recipient’s information field, but randomly created a “Xiong Meili”.
Zhao Bo, a Beijing citizen, said that the most common method is to smear the personal information column or cut the express delivery sheet after receiving the package.
Searching on the e-commerce platform, products such as express code pens and thermal paper correction fluids abound. “Because there are too many express delivery links, I only smear and cut it after receiving the express. It may not be of much help. It is just for psychological comfort.” Zhao Bo said.
Promotion encounters problems: users are easy to miss selections, brother finds it troublesome
The privacy sheet is not new. As early as 2017, some express delivery companies and express delivery platforms tried to launch private face-to-face slips, and some private face-to-face receiptscell phoneThe four digits in the middle of the number are replaced by asterisks, and some privacy slips not only do not display the mobile phone number, but also hide the specific address. When delivering, the courier needs to use a special terminal device to scan the barcode of the package to read the relevant recipient’s name and phone number.
However, in the process of promotion and use, the privacy sheet encountered several major problems.
The privacy statement on an express parcel, the address information is blurred by mosaic (October 24, 2021). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Youzong
——Users are easy to miss the selection. Zhang Xuan, a citizen of Hefei, told reporters that when he was shopping on the e-commerce platform, he wanted to choose to use the private face-to-face and not to disclose personal information on the express package, but he could not find an option. “Although some e-commerce platforms will replace the middle four digits of the mobile phone number with an asterisk by default, I think the address information is also critical and should be protected.”
Screenshot of the operation interface of ZTO Express WeChat Mini Program.
When some express delivery companies personally send express delivery, concealing personal information is not a default option, but a value-added option. Reporters log in to the ZTO Express WeChat applet and choose to send express. In its value-added service, you need to click on the secure number option before you can use the secure number instead of your actual mobile phone number.
——Different channels and different standards. In some courier companies, different delivery channels have different standards for the use of privacy face orders. SF customer service staff stated that users can log in to the “SF Express+” WeChat applet and select the hidden mailing service to hide the sender and recipient’s personal information. However, on the SF Express App’s express delivery page, you can’t find the hidden address delivery service option.
The person in charge of express delivery outlets also said that to use private receipts, the outlets need to be equipped with special printing equipment. If the sender’s outlets for express delivery are not equipped with professional equipment, they cannot choose to use privacy receipts.
——Affect the delivery efficiency of the courier brother. Mr. Chi, the person in charge of a branch of Zhongtong Express, told reporters that after using the private receipt, the courier must scan the code to read the specific information of the package, which will affect the delivery efficiency of the courier. “The courier can’t see at a glance. For example, the courier scans the code and sees a package on the 12th floor. After delivery, he scans out a parcel on the 8th floor. You need to turn back from the 8th floor to the 12th floor.”
The courier Yu Kaiyao told reporters that the “Double 11” business peak has been ushered recently, and his daily delivery volume is about 400 orders. “If you use all the privacy slips and take out each package and scan it again, it is estimated that about 50 pieces will be delivered less every day.”
Tightening the “fence” of express information security still requires a multi-pronged approach
According to data from the State Post Bureau, from January to September this year, the total business volume of express service companies across the country completed 76.77 billion pieces, a year-on-year increase of 36.7%. Express delivery has become one of the new “seven things” in most people’s lives.
The “Interim Regulations on Express Delivery” that came into effect on May 1, 2018 stipulate that companies operating express delivery services should establish express delivery bills and electronic data management systems, properly keep electronic data such as user information, regularly destroy express delivery bills, and adopt effective technical means to ensure users information security.
Many industry experts said that for express delivery companies, it is not only necessary to consider the efficiency of delivery, but also to further increase the proportion of private face-to-face usage and improve the level of protection of users’ personal information.
In addition to promoting privacy sheets to improve the level of personal information protection at the end of delivery, express companies should also strengthen internal information security management. “It should be said that the importance of express delivery companies on user information security is constantly increasing, and database security is the top priority among them. In addition, local courts have sentenced a number of cases in recent years for the collusion between internal and external parties to buy and sell express user information. Illegal acts also have a deterrent effect.” said Shao Zhonglin, former deputy secretary-general of the China Express Association and an expert at the China Post Think Tank.
This is the automated assembly line in the Shanghai Transshipment Center of Zhongtong Express taken on November 12, 2019. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Xiang
YTO Express stated in its corporate responsibility report that starting from September 2020, companies will gradually improve the construction of information security systems and strengthen the supervision and management of personnel. At the same time, it actively cooperates with the public security organs to severely crack down on illegal acts involving user information security.
A courier of SF Express told reporters that after using terminal equipment to decrypt the express information, the relevant decryption records will leave marks in the system. Whether the courier is operating strictly in accordance with the company’s rules and procedures will also be recorded and verified.
“Although all parties are strengthening the protection of personal information, it is not ruled out that there are still people taking risks. This requires greater punishment from the legal level.” Xu Yong, vice president of the Express Branch of the China Transportation Association, said.