New Delhi, Sep 27:   The Indian government has blocked several websites that were disclosing sensitive personal information, including Aadhaar and PAN card details, of citizens. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) acted on concerns raised by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which reported breaches of the Aadhaar Act, 2016.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) found security vulnerabilities on these sites during an analysis. The affected website operators have been instructed to improve their IT systems to fix these issues.

CERT-In has issued guidelines for IT application users under the Information Technology Act, 2000, which prohibits the public disclosure of sensitive personal data. Individuals affected by these breaches can seek redress and compensation from the Adjudicating Officer under section 46 of the Act, with State IT Secretaries serving in this role.

The government is also launching a nationwide initiative to educate stakeholders on responsible data use and measures to prevent unauthorized exposure. Furthermore, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, is nearing the completion of its regulatory framework, aiming to enhance data protection.