Personal details, including address, phone number, caste, date of birth and email IDs, of over 4 lakh students from corporate schools and engineering colleges, and aspirants to entrance exams conducted by the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) a few months ago, are available for ₹ 17,000 on a website (http://studentsdatabase.in) that boasts a database “verified by experts.”
The availability of such data, a marketing resource for education-related enterprises, including coaching classes, was posted on Twitter on Friday by a French security researcher called Elliot Alderson.
“Only in #India: the website is selling student databases. You can even access a sample of the data for free,” said his post. It was re-tweeted over 650 times. Mr. Elliot, too, shared unmasked details of MBA candidates, which was pointed out by Twitterati. Many Twitter users also shared their views on being harassed by marketing calls from institutions.
All for a price
A quick look at the portal shows that details of over 2.45 lakh candidates who qualified in the State’s 2018 Integrated Common Entrance Test (AP ICET), Engineering Agricultural and Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET) and Engineering Common Entrance Test (ECET), and the Andhra Pradesh results for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), are available for a price. While each set of data costs ₹ 2,000-₹ 2,500, the full set of data can be purchased for ₹ 11,000.
Another data set offers details of over 99,000 engineering students in the final year, and over 56,000 students in Class X and Class XII (March 2018 batch) for ₹ 6,000. To win over information seekers, the portal is offering a free sample of at least 200 records per set.
To make a purchase, the portal says visitors have to contact the website’s organisers and send money to bank accounts in the names of Bengaluru-based Lakshmi Prasanth and Prathiba S., and Chennai-based Prashanth Subramani.
Old isn’t gold
Data sets with 25.66 lakh records of previous examinations since 2010 are available for free because ‘old’ candidates are no longer relevant for promos. “The cost of the database is gradually reduced every week. Most of the old databases are available for free download,” a description on the website reads. The ‘free’ database is easily accessible via a registration and log-in.
The information on students from Andhra Pradesh is only a part of the database, which includes State-wise meritorious performers in national level entrance examinations and all common entrance tests conducted by Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala. The portal also claims to have personal information, except Aadhaar, of 6.7 crore individuals from Karnataka. A sample can be ordered on request. There has been no answer yet to a test email enquiring about the authenticity of data.
Still a mystery
The APSCHE, which came across such data leaks last year, lodged a complaint with the Andhra Pradesh Police. However, databases continue to remain on the internet.
“We keep the data securely and don’t share it with anyone. It’s also available with AP Online, and the conveners of the examinations. The last time, when this was reported, we wrote to the DGP (Director General of Police) seeking action,” Professor S. Vijaya Raju, chairman, APSCHE, told The Hindu.
APSCHE Special Officer (CETS) K. Raghunath said, “We share the data available on AP Online with a Real Time Governance Centre (RTGC). We are not sure how bulk data could have been leaked.”
“We will take the issue up with the RTGC as well as the Crime Investigation Department (CID) immediately,” Dr. Raghunath told The Hindu.