New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi has written a letter to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) over media reports claiming massive breach of data of candidates who appeared for the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) this year.
The Wire had first reported the story last week that phone numbers, email IDs and addresses of hundreds of thousands of applicants who took NEET were available online for a price of Rs 2 lakh.
Gandhi also demanded a thorough enquiry into the matter.
In the letter to CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal, Gandhi called for putting in place additional safeguards to prevent such a breach in the future.
“I am shocked by this wide scale theft of personal data that has compromised the privacy of candidates across the country,” Gandhi said in his letter.
He said it highlighted the serious lack of safeguards to prevent data breach, and calls into question the ability of the CBSE to ensure the sanctity of the examination process.
“I strongly urge you to order an inquiry against this shocking lapse and take action against the officials responsible for the same. In addition, I request you to put additional safeguards to prevent the recurrence of such data breaches,” Gandhi said in the letter.
Data up for sale is genuine
When The Wire spoke to students and NEET applicants, they all confirmed their personal details, indicating that the data up for sale is genuine.
The point of many of these databases that are floating around online is that it serves as a goldmine for universities, colleges and preparatory schools that are looking to contact students who didn’t crack the entrance exams that they hoped they would.
One NEET applicant, whose data was exposed in this leak and who wrote the exam for the second time this year, told The Wire that she had already been receiving calls from prep institutes and other colleges for potential admission.
A wave of privacy breaches and data leaks have hit India over the last three year, as India’s internet penetration has skyrocketed past shoddy standards of information and cyber security.
In early 2017, The Wire reported that numerous government websites exposed the private details of millions of Indian citizens. The private sector wasn’t far behind, with several major companies having experienced embarrassing data breaches. While most of these leaks were closed, authorities are yet to hold anyone accountable.
While a data protection law is in the works, as The Wire’s reporting has shown that the government is unconcerned at best (and apathetic at worst) to the issue of assigning liability in the aftermath of privacy violations.
With PTI inputs.