Aarogya Setu contact tracing data deleted, feature discontinued: Govt tells Lok Sabha
1 min read . Updated: 09 Feb 2023, 07:29 AM IST
PremiumAll contact-tracing data collected via the Aarogya Setu mobile application has been deleted and the feature - flagged by critics over security related concerns - has been disabled.
The Centre said on Wednesday that all contact-tracing data collected via the Aarogya Setu mobile application has been deleted. The software had been used to locate and track potential COVID-19 cases as the pandemic raged. While it remains in use, the government said that the contact tracing feature - flagged by critics over security related concerns - has now been disabled.
“In accordance with the provisions of the said protocol, the contact tracing feature of the Aarogya Setu mobile application has been discontinued and contact tracing data collected through it has been deleted," MoS for electronics and information technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar told the Lok Sabha.
The Union Minister was responding to a question raised by Congress MP Amar Singh. He also said that certain officials were given secure access to this data.
“Approved officials of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, State Health Departments, the National and State Disaster Management Authorities and District Civil Surgeons were given secure access to the data collected through the Aarogya Setu," Chandrasekhar said.
Much has been said over the past three years about the security implications of the Aarogya Setu app. But while cybersecurity experts and former intelligence officials spoke about the possibility of a data breach involving millions of Indians, Indian government officials had dismissed the concerns.
Amid the lockdowns in early 2020, Aarogya Setu had been made mandatory for central government employees ( to ensure that it was safe for them to come into office). it was later made mandatory for all public and private sector office employees as well as individuals living in an identified COVID-19 containment zone or those taking flights."
(With inputs from agencies)
