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A Leak of Biometric Police Data Is a Sign of Things to Come
Thousands of fingerprints and facial images linked to police in India have been exposed online. Researchers say it’s a warning of what will happen as the collection of biometric data increases.
Thousands of law enforcement officials and people applying to be police officers in India have had their personal information leaked online—including fingerprints, facial scan images, signatures, and details of tattoos and scars on their bodies. Within a total of almost 500 gigabytes of data spanning 1.6 million documents, dated from 2021 until when Fowler discovered them in early April, was a mine of sensitive personal information about teachers, railway workers, and law enforcement officials. Prateek Waghre, executive director of Indian digital rights organization Internet Freedom Foundation, says there is “vast” biometric datacollectionhappening across India, but there are added security risks for people involved in law enforcement.
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