Leaking private information, either intentionally or unintentionally, has gradually become a headache for many as the country opens its arms even wider to the information era.

A by-product of an increasingly digitized world, the trend is getting worse than ever as new technologies and peoples' access to the Internet grows.

The revelations made this week by people.com.cn that private information of some 1 million Chinese stock investors has been floating around the Internet has ignited renewed calls for strengthened private information protection.