CPI(M) demands inquiry into claims of CoWIN data breach

New Delhi: While the opposition parties claimed a breach of data of citizens on the government platform CoWIN on Monday, the Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) called it a ‘serious concern’ and ‘an infringement of the right to privacy’.

An official statement by the Polit Bureau mentioned: “Shocking reports have appeared of a mega data breach in which personal information of Indians including Aadhar card etc., have leaked from the CoWin Portal in which people registered for a vaccination with their details. This is of serious concern and an infringement of the right to privacy which was declared by the Supreme Court as a fundamental right of all Indians.” It further claimed that a similar allegation was made earlier in 2021, when the health ministry denied, adding: “... but it had nevertheless ordered an investigation into the alleged leakage from the CoWin system by the Computer Emergency Response Team, the counter-hacking group under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The details of this investigation are not yet in the public domain.”

The highest body of left parties demanded a thorough investigation and deterrent action against those responsible for such a major breach in the security of the personal information of Indian citizens.

However, the government has termed such reports as “mischievous” and “without any basis.”