ADC requests RENAPER to explain huge data breach

The Association for Civil Rights has filed an Access to Public Information Request to the National Registry of Persons (RENAPER) for an explanation about the data breach that became known last month after a hacker published private information belonging to politicians, celebrities, and journalists on social media and reported that he had put up the personal data of 45 million Argentinians for sale. 

Given the sparse information from the agency on the type and extent of the attack, ADC’s inquiry includes details on the servers in which the databases are stored, the people who can access them, the confidentiality protocols protecting such information and the audits conducted to assess their computer security, among other aspects.

“We must have clear and accurate knowledge of the tools with which the government safeguards our data, since its use from different applications to exercise our rights is becoming more and more widespread, making data security a matter of increasing priority,” said Alejandro Segarra, ADC’s head of Strategic and Public Interest Litigation.

Breaches of this type jeopardize the confidentiality of citizens’ sensitive information. This is not the first time that an incident of this scale occurs, for which ADC urges that the national government ensure the protection of people’s data and reveal the particulars of the attack and how data security is currently being handled.

ADC is a civil society organization based in Argentina that, since its creation in 1995, works in the defense and promotion of civil and human rights in Argentina and Latin America.