Data Breach: Personal Details of COVID Vaccine Recipients Leaked on Telegram Messenger
In a shocking revelation, the personal data provided by individuals on the Central government’s CoWIN portal for COVID-19 vaccination has been exposed on the Telegram app, raising serious concerns about a massive security breach. This breach allows anyone to freely access sensitive information, including identification numbers, gender, dates of birth, and vaccination center details, simply by entering a mobile number. Even Aadhaar numbers and passport details, entered for international travel purposes, have been leaked.
Notably, the breach also compromises the privacy of family members, as registrations under the same phone number reveal information about other individuals within the family. In contrast, the CoWIN portal only displays such details after the entry of a One Time Password (OTP) sent to the registered phone number. However, the leaked data on the Telegram channel is readily available without the need for an OTP.
Prominent individuals, including politicians from the opposition parties and journalists, have fallen victim to this data breach. Screenshots shared by Saket Gokhale, national spokesperson for the Trinamool Congress, exposed the personal information of politicians like Dered O’Brien, P Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh, and K C Venugopal, as well as journalists Rajdeep Sardesai and Barkha Dutt.
Expressing concern about this alarming situation, Saket Gokhale questioned the awareness of the Modi government regarding the data leak and criticized the lack of information shared with the public about this breach. This data breach poses a significant national concern, demanding immediate attention and action.
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