A row has broken out in India between Modi's BJP party and the opposition INC over the prime minister's alleged misuse of data. An anonymous hacker claims Modi's official app shared users' data without consent.
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An anonymous hacker who describes himself as a "French security researcher" using the moniker Elliot Alderson on Twitter alleges that the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official mobile application is "sending personal data to third-party companies without user consent."
The allegations have led to a Twitter war of words between the ruling BJP party and the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC) - also known as Congress.
Its president, Rahul Gandhi, mocked the PM on his official account, saying "Hi! My name is Narendra Modi…When you sign up for my official app, I give all your data to my friends in American companies."
The ruling BJP hit back at Gandhi, at one point calling him "technically challenged" on Twitter.
The party's Twitter handle states that the app "is a unique app," which allows people to use it in guest mode, thus not giving access to personal data. It goes on to say that "permissions required are all contextual and cause-specific" and "used for analytics only."
Alderson, according to his account, also checked the Congress mobile app, which he says also breaches privacy laws by not properly encrypting users' data.
The INC promptly hit back, saying that there was "no truth to this allegation" and that there had been "NO breach of data whatsoever." Its app, however, has disappeared from the Google Play Store, which the party says is because the "wrong URL was being circulated and people were being misled."
The spat comes after various hackers, researchers and journalists identified loopholes in India's massive national identity card database Aadhaar – the world's largest with over 1.1 billion users.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the semi-government body responsible for Aadhaar, in January filed a criminal case against the Tribune newspaper for publishing a story that said access to the card's database could be bought.
According to reports, several researchers and journalists claim they have been harassed for investigating and writing about Aadhaar.
Meanwhile, US and UK authorities areinvestigating Cambridge Analytica after a whistleblower this month alleged that the firm illegally harvested information from over 50 million Facebook accounts to help Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election.
Who's who in the Cambridge Analytica scandal?
Following revelations that Facebook user data was swiped to help influence the US election, five men are under the spotlight. As those linked to the scandal continue to trade blame, DW looks at what role each one played.
Image: picture alliance/AP/dpa/E. Vucci
The faces behind the scandal
Facebook has been slammed for failing to protect the data of more than 50 million users. Their data was used to further conservative political projects, including Brexit and Donald Trump's presidential victory. From a former White House strategist to a Canadian whistle blower, here are the people involved in what some are describing as Facebook's largest data breach.
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Whistleblower who hacked Facebook
A 28-year-old Canadian data analytics expert first blew the whistle on the scandal to Britain’s Observer newspaper. Christopher Wylie claims he set up the project for Cambridge Analytica and helped forge ties with Donald Trump’s campaign. He revealed that millions of profiles were hijacked to influence the election. Cambridge Analytica says Wylie has been "misrepresenting himself and the company."
Image: Reuters/H. Nicholls
Cambridge Analytica boss
Cambridge Analytica CEO, Alexander Nix, was one of several senior executives filmed by an undercover reporter from Britain's Channel 4. Nix claimed credit for Donald Trump's 2016 electoral victory. He also said his political consultancy could feed untraceable messages on social media. Executives bragged that the firm could use misinformation, bribery and even prostitutes to help win elections.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Charisius
Psychology academic behind Facebook app
A Moldovan-born Cambridge University researcher developed a personality app that harvested the personal data of 30 million Facebook users. Aleksandr Kogan said he passed the information to Cambridge Analytica, under assurances that what he was doing was legal. But now he says the research firm and Facebook are scapegoating him over the scandal.
Image: University of Cambridge
Facebook chief was 'deceived' over data use
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was criticized for waiting for four days to respond to the scandal. His social media network claims to be the victim of the whole saga, insisting it was unaware of how the data was being used. Still, Zuckerberg has been summoned by the British and European parliaments, while US consumer regulators have launched an investigation into the firm's use of personal data.
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Trump strategist with Cambridge links
Trump's former strategist Steve Bannon helped develop the populist, anti-Washington message that helped the billionaire win the White House. A founding member of right-wing outlet Breitbart News, Bannon is a former board member of Cambridge Analytica and brought in wealthy businessman Robert Mercer as a financial backer. He left the White House last August and Trump has since cut him off.
