Reporter who exposed India data breach named in criminal complaint

Reporter who exposed India data breach named in criminal complaint 1

A journalist who broke the tale that private records of one. Two billion Indians can be purchased online for much less than £6 has been named in a criminal criticism filed with the aid of the government organization liable for the information.

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Senior Indian journalists and countrywide press associations criticized Rachna Khaira as “unfair, unjustified, and a direct assault on the freedom of the click”. Research with the aid of Khaira inside the Chandigarh-primarily based Tribune newspaper last week claimed that getting admission to a database containing personal information turned into being offered on WhatsApp agencies for approximately 500 rupees (£five). The Unique Identification Authority of India, which collects and administers the data, stated it was regarded to incorporate “mere demographic” information and not the fingerprint and retina scans, which can also be part of the Aadhaar database, the most important worldwide.

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A UIDAI deputy director filed a complaint with the police at the weekend, naming Khaira and her newspaper and alleging more than a few offenses, such as forgery and cheating.

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Others, together with the human beings supposed to have bought the right of entry to the database, were additionally named in the complaint, which police will look at whether or not any crook prices ought to be delivered. UIDAI denied “shooting the messenger,” arguing that it changed into certainly naming every birthday celebration concerned within the incident and would go away police and the courts to decide whether or not any criminal acts had been committed. “It does no longer mean that each individual named within the document is necessarily responsible or being targeted,” the authority said in an assertion. Late on Monday, the Indian law and IT minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, clarified the point of interest of the crook complaint changed to the unknown parties who had allegedly sold Aadhaar data. “Govt. Is devoted to freedom of the press and maintaining protection & sanctity of #Aadhaar for India’s development,” tweeted.

“[The complaint] is in opposition to unknown. I’ve suggested @UIDAI to request Tribune & it’s the journalist to offer all assistance to police in investigating real offenders.” Indian courts have normally held that sting operations committed by reporters in the public hobby can’t be considered crook acts. The Editors Guild of India said the case changed into “in reality supposed to browbeat a journalist whose investigation on the problem turned into first-rate public hobby”. The Broadcast Editors Association also demanded that the case in opposition to the journalist be withdrawn. “Such [cases] in opposition to reporters exposing systemic flaws is a spiteful kick within the tooth of Indian democracy and the proper to lose speech and expression,” it said.

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