In recent news, several big tech companies in Hyderabad have received notices from the Telangana State Police in connection with a data leak case. The notices were issued after a Hyderabad-based IT solutions provider, IT Grids (India) Pvt Ltd, was accused of illegally obtaining personal information of millions of voters in Andhra Pradesh.
The case came to light in March 2019 when the Telangana Police raided the office of IT Grids and seized several hard disks and documents. The company was accused of using the data to create a mobile application called “Seva Mitra” which was allegedly used by the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh to target voters during the 2019 general elections.
The Telangana Police have been investigating the case for over two years now and have issued notices to several big tech companies in Hyderabad, including Google, Facebook, and Amazon. The notices seek information related to IT Grids and their alleged involvement in the data leak case.
According to reports, IT Grids had stored the personal information of millions of voters, including their names, addresses, phone numbers, and voter ID numbers, on servers hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud. The company had allegedly used Facebook’s advertising platform to target voters with political messages.
The notices issued to the big tech companies in Hyderabad seek information related to their business dealings with IT Grids, including any contracts or agreements they may have had with the company. The Telangana Police are also seeking information on any payments made by IT Grids to these companies for their services.
The big tech companies have been given two weeks to respond to the notices. In a statement, Google said it takes the privacy and security of its users’ data very seriously and will cooperate with the authorities in their investigation. Facebook and Amazon have not yet commented on the issue.
The data leak case has raised concerns about the security of personal information in India, and the role of big tech companies in safeguarding this data. The case has also highlighted the need for stronger data protection laws in the country.
In conclusion, the notices issued to big tech companies in Hyderabad in connection with the data leak case are a significant development in the ongoing investigation. It remains to be seen what information these companies will provide to the authorities and what impact this will have on the case. However, it is clear that the case has raised important questions about data privacy and security in India, and the role of big tech companies in protecting personal information.
