The Delhi Police Special Cell's Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO) Unit has apprehended an individual, on Thursday, from Bihar in connection with the alleged data breach of the Cowin Portal. The suspect is believed to have shared the compromised data on the messaging platform Telegram. Additionally, a minor has been detained by the Delhi Police Special Cell regarding the suspected breach.
Arrest and Investigation
According to Delhi police officials, the arrested individual's mother is employed as a health worker in Bihar. Further details about the case are currently awaited, as the investigation is ongoing. The detainment of the minor suggests that multiple individuals may be involved in the breach.
Government's Response
In response to the incident, the Parliamentary Committee on Communication and IT convened on June 15 to address concerns about citizens' data security and privacy. Government officials stated that the leaked data, allegedly collected by bots, originated from various sources. They emphasized that the CoWIN portal was designed to be breach-proof.
The government launched an investigation on June 13 after reports surfaced that personal data of vaccinated individuals, including VVIPs, had been leaked through a Telegram messenger channel. The health ministry denied the validity of claims suggesting that data could be accessed from a Telegram bot without mobile or Aadhaar number verification.
Minister of state for electronics and information technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, explained that the accessed data appeared to be from previously stolen databases unrelated to CoWIN, stated a report in Mint.
Data Breach Impact
The revelation of the data breach has dealt a significant blow to the government's efforts in digitizing the economy and developing the digital public infrastructure (DPI) based on Aadhaar, mobile numbers, and bank accounts. These components form the foundation for benefit transfers and private sector innovation. However, the initial report from CERT-In, the agency responsible for investigating data breaches, indicates that the Telegram bot did not directly access the CoWIN database's APIs.
Overview of CoWIN
The CoWIN portal was launched by the central government in January 2021 as a digital platform to manage the details of the COVID-19 vaccination program. It is owned and operated by the Union health ministry. Currently, the CoWIN dashboard shows that over 1.11 billion individuals have registered on the portal, and approximately 2.21 billion vaccine doses have been administered to date.
With agency inputs
