17,000 new credit cards issued by ICICI linked to wrong users

Embracing digital modes of transactions and viewing it as a natural progression, customers are now facing the rude shock of seeing their private and financial details compromised.

BigBasket, Domino’s, Air India – big brands from diverse sectors with loyal customer bases – have witnessed data breaches that convey firewalls in place are too porous.

The bedrock of a customer-seller relationship is trust and assurances sound hollow when trust is broken repeatedly.

Two reports of data breaches in less than 24 hours is going to rattle consumers, who are already going through tough times due to the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The alarming part is that the seriousness with which this issue should be tackled seems to be missing. India does not score highly on consumer redressals and this latest episode of data breaches reiterates the lack of a strong mechanism to deal with technological challenges.

The government should no longer view these as isolated incidents and strengthen the Digital India architecture.

Post-pandemic, citizens are even more dependent on digital transactions. Hence, laxity cannot be tolerated.

Citizens deserve a secured framework where their details are not accessed by hackers.

This can prove to be a  stumbling block in efforts to provide essential services to citizens.