The central government blocks websites showing Aadhaar and PAN data
New Delhi| The Central Government has blocked some websites showing personal sensitive information like Aadhaar and PAN data.
The IT Ministry was informed that sensitive information of citizens is being made public by some portals. A case has been filed with the police administration on behalf of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the government agency that issues Aadhaar, for publicly showing Aadhaar information under Aadhaar 29 (4) of the Aadhaar Act 2016.
According to the information given by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, these websites have been analyzed by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN), in which some shortcomings were found in the security of these websites. The owners of these websites were also provided guidance on actions to be taken at their level to improve ICT infrastructure and correct vulnerabilities.
Guidelines have been issued by Indian cyber agencies for all institutions to use IT applications. Guidelines for information security practices, process, prevention, response and reporting cyber incidents have also been issued by CERT-IN under the Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act).
The IT Act provides for non-publication and non-disclosure of sensitive personal information. On behalf of the ministry, it was said that if anyone is adversely affected, he can file a complaint with the adjudicating officer under Section 46 of the IT Act and demand compensation. Further said that the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 has already been enacted and is in the advanced stage of drafting of rules under this Act.
