Cybersecurity: Penalties, Obligations and Solutions

A few days ago, on the foreign social media platform X, a Russian account named "Fight bomb" posted that an American company decided to voluntarily and forcibly provide Russia with documents related to the F-15 fighter-bomber, its modifications, and weapons. These materials totaled approximately 250GB. This also caused a sensation on China's social networks.

According to the guidance of a Russian user, we were able to access a series of PDF documents that deeply analyzed the US Air Force and its military hardware. Particularly prominent was a collection containing hundreds of documents that detailed the comprehensive operation guide of the F-15 fighter. The exposure of this information quickly attracted global attention, and many netizens downloaded and read it, confirming the detailed and rich content. This incident was regarded by some commentators as one of the most serious leaks of military secrets in the history of the United States, highlighting the urgency of cybersecurity and information protection.

Indeed, in recent years, with the acceleration of digital transformation and the continuous expansion of cyberspace, cybersecurity issues have become increasingly prominent, and the regulatory efforts of governments around the world on cybersecurity have also been continuously strengthened. Many companies have been sanctioned by law for failing to fully fulfill their cybersecurity protection obligations. These cases cover various industries, from tech giants to small and medium-sized enterprises, without exception.

For example, in China, according to the provisions of the "Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China," enterprises must take necessary measures to protect their networks from attacks, intrusions, interferences, and destructions, and prevent network data from being leaked, stolen, or tampered with. If enterprises fail to comply with these regulations, they will face warnings, fines, and even penalties such as suspension of business for rectification.

Some recent specific cases include:

1. Two enterprises in Yantai City were lawfully punished by the local public security authorities due to their ineffective performance of cybersecurity protection obligations in their self-built information systems.
2. Three companies in Henan Province were given administrative penalties by the cyber security department of the Xinxiang Public Security Bureau for failing to implement the network security level protection system and fulfill security protection obligations.
3. Several companies in Beijing were punished by the cyber security department of the Beijing Public Security Bureau for failing to fulfill cybersecurity protection obligations.
4. Several companies in Chuzhou were punished by Anhui cyber police for being "irresponsible" in cybersecurity protection.
5. A company in Nanchong was given an administrative penalty by the relevant competent department for not fulfilling the obligation of cybersecurity management.

In addition, a large enterprise like Didi Global Inc. was also fined heavily by the Cyberspace Administration of China for violating cybersecurity regulations.

These penalty cases reflect the strictness of the implementation of cybersecurity regulations and also remind all enterprises that they must attach great importance to cybersecurity, establish and improve internal security management systems, conduct regular security assessments and training, ensure compliance with national laws and regulations, and avoid legal sanctions and economic losses due to security oversights.

If a company is punished for cybersecurity, it usually means that it has deficiencies in network protection, data security, or compliance. After being punished, the company needs to take immediate measures to correct the mistakes, strengthen cybersecurity, and comply with relevant laws and regulations. Knownsec is a professional cybersecurity service provider that can provide enterprises with a series of solutions to help them improve their cybersecurity level and avoid future violation risks.

As cyber attack methods continue to upgrade, the cybersecurity challenges faced by enterprises will continue to increase. Therefore, strengthening cybersecurity protection is not only a requirement of the law but also a necessary measure to protect the interests and reputation of enterprises themselves.