The opposition People’s party has been dealt a major setback by the Department of Provincial Administration, which has denied them access to the department’s digital ID system after it was discovered that personal confidential information of some of its party members had been leaked.
The party requires applicants for membership to provide their 12-digit laser ID code on its membership application forms, which is usually used for high-security identity verification. Information from the code was found to have been exposed in a database hack.
The ban on access to the digital ID system became effective at noon on Saturday and the People’s party was told to report to the Provincial Administration Department about the leaked data on its party members, so action can be taken to protect such information.
If the information was leaked without the consent of the people concerned, the department may lodge complaints with the police under the provisions of the Personal Data Protection Act.
The department also said that, if the information obtained from the codes was unlawfully disclosed or used without the consent of those concerned, the People’s party may face additional charges under the Computer Crime Act, as well as election and political party laws.
