TMC criticises Modi government following arrests for dark web sale of personal data
New Delhi, December 18: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) heavily criticised the Modi-led government after the arrest of four individuals for allegedly leaking Aadhaar and passport details of Indians on the dark web. TMC MP Saket Gokhale accused the government of providing false information in Parliament about Aadhaar data security, demanding answers regarding the discrepancy.
Gokhale questioned the government's response in Parliament regarding the security of Aadhaar data, highlighting the arrest of individuals involved in leaking sensitive information from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) database. Delhi Police Cyber Unit apprehended the four individuals around ten days ago, acting on their own initiative. The leaked personal data, including Aadhaar and passport details, reportedly originated from the ICMR database and was available for sale on the dark web.
This incident, termed potentially the 'biggest' data leak in India, involved personal details of more than 81.5 crore Indians sourced from the ICMR, as per a News18 report. The breach was initially flagged by Resecurity, an American cybersecurity and intelligence agency.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore highlighted the matter in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing concerns about citizens' data security after the alert from the American cybersecurity company. Tagore emphasised the compromised nature of the sensitive data and the potential lapse in data protection measures.
Earlier, in July, Gokhale had alleged a breach in the CoWin vaccination tracking platform, sharing screenshots on social media that included Aadhaar card numbers and other personal details of senior political leaders. This repeated occurrence of data breaches has amplified concerns about data protection and citizens' privacy in India.
- With inputs from agencies
