- Media reports say the CoWIN website has been hacked.
- Personal data of 150 million Indians have allegedly been put up on sale.
- Government denies reports that the CoWIN website has been hacked.
Media reports on CoWIN website being hacked have been doing the rounds. The portal has been used by millions of Indians for the COVID vaccination drive and it is possible that the website has been hacked. However, the government on Thursday denied reports that the CoWIN platform was hacked. “There have been some unfounded media reports on the CoWIN platform being hacked. Prima facie, these reports appear to be fake,” a statement issued by the Union health ministry said.
There have been reports that the CoWIN hack has leaked personal data of 150 million registered Indians and has been put up on sale. The government, however, is denying the hack and has called the claims fake. Dr R S Sharma, Chairman of the Empowered Group on Vaccine Administration (EGVAC) said, “CoWIN stores all vaccination data in a safe and secure digital environment.”
CoWIN has been used to check and book COVID vaccination slots in India. To recall, COVID vaccine registrations opened for everyone over the age of 18 back on April 28th. This saw an influx of millions of new users on the CoWIN platform.
Dr R S Sharma added that “No CoWIN data is shared with any entity outside the CoWIN environment. The data being claimed as having been leaked such as the geo-location of beneficiaries, is not even collected at CoWIN” We will update this story as and when we learn more about the hack.
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