SRD’s WhatsApp service may end up with data theft

Hyderabad: Various departments of the State government have been going all out offering citizen services on WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media networks at a time when financial market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has been waging legal battles against such encrypted instant messaging platforms. 

According to sources in the State Home Department (SHD), the Telangana Stamps and Registrations Department (SRD) is the latest one to join the race in offering citizen services using  WhatsApp platform to reach out to  people. A senior official told The Hans India: “There is neither any policy nor coordination among the departments on using such applications and social media platforms.”

As per the SRD, the new WhatsApp service would help people post messages seeking details needed to complete the registration process, payment of stamp duty, besides solving problems faced in the process of registrations and to lodge complaints.

However, to avail all these services, people will have to register themselves first with WhatsApp, a Facebook-owned messaging application embroiled in the data breach  of its users in the country. Also, the messaging platform can aggregate user-specific data accessing the contacts, camera and other data related to the device without any problem.

It was against this backdrop that accessing citizen services through WhatsApp and other social media platforms would be giving the personal, professional and other formats of data on a platter to these companies. That apart, the data is being stored in the servers located beyond the borders. “On one hand people would be increasingly out of bounds for the servers located beyond the borders, on the other, they are regulated either by the laws in those countries or transnational legal frameworks,” the official said.

Giving an example, the official said WhatsApp has so far refused data sought by the SEBI. The SEBI had exclusive jurisdiction to ensure that the price sensitive information of companies needs to be uniformly disclosed only through stock exchange platforms. But the same had been circulated through WhatsApp and Facebook.

The market regulator has sought user-specific data following complaints of breach of Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirement (LORD) and Prevention of Insider Trading (PIT) norms. It was against this backdrop, experts want a uniform policy to regulate government departments in using the applications like WhatsApp. Otherwise, government departments will be aiding the shifting of citizen data to servers located in some other country. 

In case of any problems, these departments would not be in a position to resolve the same," he added. When contacted, State Home Secretary Rajiv Trivedi said that he is not aware of any policy existing to regulate the usage of WhatsApp-like services. However, an expert opinion needs to be sought as it is related to technical and legal fields, he added. Sources in the SRD said offering services had been decided by the  officials. There was no consultation sought either from the Home or Law departments.