Most Indians allege their data compromised by govt departments, telcos: Report

According to the report by online community platform LocalCircles, seven in 10 citizens surveyed believe one or more of their personal data elements are already in the public domain or in databases that have been compromised. The survey received over 23,000 responses from citizens located in 309 districts of India, in which 67 per cent of respondents were men while 33 per cent of respondents were women. The survey asked respondents if their personal details are in the public domain and what all has been compromised. About 9 per cent said that “no personal details have been leaked or are in the public domain. However, 72 per cent said that “personal details were leaked or are in the public domain, while 19 per cent did not give a clear response, opting for “can’t say. Among those who held that their personal information has been leaked - about 72 per cent indicated mobile number; 63 per cent indicated email address; 53 per cent indicated Aadhaar number; 50 per cent stated PAN card number; 25 per cent indicated Voter ID number; 22 per cent indicated credit/ debit card number; 9 per cent stated annual income/salary; and 19 per cent stated other details, according to the report. On asking which entities they hold responsible for their data leaks, most named the various arms of the government, telcos and banks as responsible for the leak of their personal data, some of which is in the public domain. Around 81 per cent blamed state/local government offices, databases, Staff (RTO, municipality, hospitals, public distribution system, property registration office, etc). Nearly 75 per cent mentioned telecom service providers, 69 per cent banks and financial service providers, and 56 per cent Central government offices, databases, staff (EPF, Passport, CoWIN, Aarogya Setu, Aadhaar, Income Tax, Vehicle Ownership, Voter ID, etc), and others. --IANS shs/vd

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