Mumbai: Amid rising numbers of COVID-19 patients in the city, which has now led to the reimposition of lockdown in many parts, poses another threat of leaking COVID positive patients' details. After several instances of data leak, the cyber cops have come to the rescue and asked people to break the chain of WhatsApp forwards that holds vital information of COVID-19 patients like their names, addresses, date of contracting the virus, thus creating panic among the masses.
In the light of the leaked lists, the state cyber police have warned citizens to refrain from forwarding such lists, failing which they will be prosecuted. Moreover, the admins of WhatsApp groups have been asked to be more cautious regarding posting of such lists and instructed them to remove the members who forward such uninformed reports, rumours surrounding the Coronavirus patients.
A senior cyber official said, "We have already asked the admins to change the WhatsApp group settings to 'Admin Only', which will largely help in dissuading sharing of such lists. In case of a leaked list, not only the sender will be booked, but the group admin where the list was shared will also be booked under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act."
Last month, a list of 212 COVID positive patients in the jurisdiction of Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) had gone viral on various WhatsApp groups. This, however, was not the first time such a case had happened in and around Mumbai. Earlier in April, a list with 138 names of home quarantined people in Dahisar and Borivali went viral on social media.
The civic authorities, however, clarified that the lapse wasn't on their part but the list was leaked in one of the police stations in their jurisdiction.
A cyber expert said, this data leak also poses a threat as this information is put up for sale on the dark web, where per person's information is sold at 20 paise. This information is then picked up by fraudsters, bogus insurance companies offering better healthcare services at cheaper rates.
