CHANDIGARH, September 15: — The personal details of over seven lakh construction workers registered with the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare (BOCW) Board are reportedly vulnerable to misuse, as the state-run portal lacks two-step authentication, workers say.
The portal allows access to sensitive information — including bank accounts, addresses, mobile numbers, and family particulars — simply by entering a worker’s registration number or mobile number. The security lapse has raised alarms about potential fraud.
In Punjab, any construction worker aged between 18 and 60 who has worked a minimum of 90 days in a year is registered with the BOCW Board. Over 7 lakh workers are currently listed on the portal. “A person anywhere in the world can get details of bank account, address, mobile numbers and family details. This information can easily be misused,” said Sardara Singh, president of the Dr Ambedkar Workers’ Union, Punjab. “This is a clear violation of the Right to Privacy ensured under Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees protection of life and personal liberty.”
Raghvir Singh, a construction worker, suggested implementing a two-factor authentication system using one-time passwords (OTPs) sent to registered mobile numbers. “Workers receive direct benefit transfers (DBT) regularly. Their personal information could be exploited by cyber fraudsters,” he said.
When contacted, Manvesh Sidhu, principal secretary of the Punjab Labour Department, said the breach “could be due to some technical glitch” and promised corrective action. “We will write to the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to fix it,” he added.
