Data safety raises concerns
Private institutions are ready to pay good money for personal data
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-08-19 02:17 GMT
Hyderabad: Concerns are being expressed over the confidentiality of the massive volumes of personal data that will be collected across the state during Tuesday’s Intensive Household Survey,
The government has stated that the survey data will be posted online and can be accessed by various departments and agencies freely. The data will include bank account numbers, PAN numbers, mobile numbers and other personal information, where the residents have provided them; the government has stated that providing this data is voluntary.
Private institutions are ready to pay good money for personal data for telemarketing and other commercial purposes. The data is in huge demand from real estate firms, hospitals, financial institutions, shopping malls and automobile showrooms among others.
This is because the data being collected covers details of house ownership, vehicles owned, bank account/ PAN numbers, household items/ electronic goods etc.
Several consultancies and agencies engaged in the telemarketing business have already initiated efforts to secure data from the government offices, if reports are to be believed, by bribing them.
Selling data to private players has become an attractive business in government departments. Private consultants and brokers are known to have bribed officials to secure data on Eamcet and other common entrance test applicants from universities. Though the government has been warning officials against this, it continues unabated.