Vehicle owners beware! Apps give away all your details for free
HYDERABAD: In what could be termed as possible misuse of public data, it has come to the fore that during violence in Delhi, many may have taken the assistance of smartphone apps which identify vehicle details, owner’s name and so on to allegedly target members of a particular community. Such apps are available for free on Google Play. For example, in RTO Vehicle Owner Info, if you enter the number-plate number of a vehicle, it throws back the owner’s vehicle details. Apart from this, there are high-end apps, where if one points their smartphone camera on the license plate of a vehicle, it immediately scans it and throws back such data. For these, users have to shell money.
City-based security researcher Srinivas Kodali said that myriad apps have acquired the data illegally through ‘data crawling’. “Through data crawling, an internet bot can automatically browse the internet to collect data,” added Kodali. “However, the bigger issue is sharing and the sale of Vahan data (maintained by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways) to private players.”
Internet Freedom Foundation, who wrote to the Central government regarding the matter with the help of Kodali, said, “Vahan database is accessible by Government and external parties under the MoRTH’s Bulk Data Sharing Policy. The purpose is to help the ministry monetise data which it has in its coffers. It allows private parties create solutions and services for its own commercial (or sometimes research) interests.”
This issue has also brought out the underlying need for a data protection bill. However, will it be effective in dealing with such issues? “Not much really,” added Kodali. “As of the current draft of the Data Protection Bill, any agency of the government is exempted from the application Act.” He further urged the government to delete such data.
Data that RTO Vehicle Owner Info provides...
Owner name, Registration data, Vehicle class, Chassis and Engine numbers, Registering authority, Maker/Model, Fuel type, Fitness upto, Insurance upto
Youth held for abusing Shaheen Bagh protesters on Facebook
Palakkad: The Agali police on Wednesday arrested Sreejith Raveendran (24) for hurling abuses and instigating violence against Shaheen Bagh protestors in Delhi. He went live on Facebook to openly abuse the women who have been carrying out anti-CAA protests for the past 70 days. The comments which targeted a particular community were protested by many social media users. The police arrested Sreejith under Section 153(A) for promoting disharmony, enmity or feelings of hatred between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc. and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.