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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Kerala govt. website in data gaffe -SR Praveen

Kerala govt. website in data gaffe -SR Praveen

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published Published on Oct 25, 2016   modified Modified on Oct 25, 2016
-The Hindu

Personal data of 1.5 crore PDS beneficiaries laid bare without password protection

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government may have compromised the privacy of Public Distribution System beneficiaries, by making available their personal information online.

Personal data such as monthly income, electoral card details, consumer numbers of power and cooking gas connections of 1.5 crore residents were published on the Civil Supplies website, throwing open the possibility of misuse by private companies and individuals. The massive trove of data, conveniently available for each ward, is a boon for marketing companies as well.

Ration card numbers

The Civil Supplies Department released the draft list of 1.54 crore PDS beneficiaries, prepared as part the Food Security Act, 2013, on its website civilsupplieskerala.gov.in last week. The list was published so that the public could verify their personal data and apply for corrections, if necessary, before new ration cards are printed next year.

The list of beneficiaries for each ward is available as a single report, from which individual ration card numbers can be obtained.

This number can be used in the ‘View ration card details’ page, where the personal details of individuals of a particular family are available. These include date of birth, gender, job, monthly salary, electoral identity card number, consumer numbers of power and cooking gas connections, besides information on any welfare pensions or housing schemes.

Ironically, the personal details of top politicians can also be obtained using the name of their spouse.

No passwords

“This list was published with a good intention and the list was required too. But, it should have been made available by protecting the data from misuse. They could have used a password-protected system. In the wrong hands, the data can be used to duplicate your SIM card or even reset your Internet banking password,” says tech analyst V.K. Adarsh.

The website is designed, developed and hosted by the National Informatics Centre.

Data available from the site can be used on other websites, including those of the Local Self-Government Department, the Kerala State Electricity Board and that of the cooking gas company to gather more data on an individual, including the last four digits of the Aadhaar number and the bank in which the individual holds an account.

‘Weak’ concept

“A capable team can download the entire data in a few hours and use it in myriad ways. Even the neighbourhood mischief-maker could use the data for other purposes. Such situations happen because there is little awareness on data security at the top level in government departments.

“Data security is like a tower. The moment a few elements at the bottom are compromised, the whole thing will collapse, which can happen in this case,” says Information Technology expert Viswanathan Prabhakaran.


The Hindu, 25 October, 2016, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/kerala-govt-website-in-data-gaffe/article9263287.ece


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