Why your MTNL connection could expose you to digital identity thefts

You may be unaware of this but the personal information you provided to your local gas agency to get your cylinders is available for the world to see online. According to an article in the Times of India, various government websites provide valuable, confidential data of citizens that make them easy prey to cyber stalkers and identity thieves, under the guise of promoting transparency of operations. Clicks on the LPG transparency links on HP, Bharat Gas and others lead to local agencies that have listed the names, addresses and often, mobile numbers, of their customers. The same goes for electoral voter rolls and MTNL connections. [caption id=“attachment_375420” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image. Reuters[/caption] Websites of social upliftment programs like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme display the bank accounts and IFSC codes of all citizens under the program. When questioned about such uninhibited sharing of personal information, most government agencies hide behind the shield of the Right to Information Act. Under Sec 4 of act government subsidy programs must publish all information online; however Sec 8 of the same act states that information that invades a citizen’s privacy need not be published unless certain tribunals rule that the information is in public service. Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath was one of the few government authorities to be quoted in the article, supporting the publication of data from electoral rolls by referring to Rule 33 of the Registration of Elector Rules, 1960, which establishes voter rolls as a public document. At present, India does not have an all-encompassing privacy law to deal with data breaches though the Department of Personnel and Training has been working on a draft privacy law for three years now. Read the entire Times of India article here.