Derek O’Brien, a member of the Trinamool Congress, has launched a lawsuit in response to reports of a privacy breach caused by the exposure of sensitive and private data kept in the Co-WIN site. The MP asserted that the violation is a “unprecedented situation” and that it would “have unthinkable consequences.”
The Trinamool leader filed a complaint with the Lalbazar Cyber Police Station in Kolkata, claiming that “a deep-rooted conspiracy is at play involving high-ranking public officials, government agencies, and other unidentified persons who have disclosed sensitive data concerning the citizens and, in the process, allowed personal data theft to private entities.” The information on yesterday’s Telegram data breach is just the tip of the iceberg; it is still unknown how much and to what extent such information was made available to commercial companies, both in India and abroad.
“Government organisations and high ranking officials have dishonestly misappropriated sensitive information and/or disposed off such personal property which they were entrusted with, to third parties, knowing fully well that such illegal acts would cause irreparable wrongful loss and damage to the citizenry,” O’Brien claimed.
“We are faced with an unprecedented situation wherein the personal data of almost all the citizens of India who have registered under the Co-WIN portal are now at the risk of their data being handed over to third parties, which will have unimaginable consequences.
“It is important to note that Members of Parliament, senior government officials, and other individuals holding constitutional positions have had their personal information compromised… Nobody is aware of the motivation behind or method of use of such data. Therefore, unless your office takes urgent and immediate action, the situation could have disastrous consequences for the safety and security of the country, he claimed in his complaint.
