EC complicit after removing published voter register – IT expert

An IT Security Consultant, Prince Kpasra, says the Electoral Commission (EC) has become complicit after publishing the names of voters on a Google Drive but later removed.

The EC, over the weekend, made public the voter register for the December 7 elections and this generated mixed reactions from Ghanaians.

But speaking on the Sunrise morning show on 3FM with Alfred Ocansey, the IT Security Consultant said the EC has breached people’s privacy by its action.

“The EC has become complicit now because it removed the information now. If you thought it as okay to put everyone’s information on a public drive accessible to anyone especially fraudsters and marketers and identify thieves and hackers whose information is available to everyone. As I speak to you, although the EC had removed the link to the drive, the information is sitting on my desk as we speak now.”

According to him, the EC is now aware that they have breached privacy.

“You see the issue is that the information is public information but to put it all out is a crime. You have your information on Facebook but when Facebook was breached, they had to answer to congress because the whole of the database is now available for those who have a bit of understanding on how to do a bit of social engineering or fraud to use your personal information to create an account and defraud and make your life a mess.”

Prince Kpasra said what the EC could have done was to create a database sitting on their server so when people go to their website, they type their polling centre, making it much easier.

Admitting that the matter has gone beyond the EC, Mr. Kpasra said the public must now use their Ghana Card to open bank accounts and other transactions since it is safer.

Meanwhile, the Engineer and Co-Founder of COLDSIS Yakubu Lantam Abdul-Jabar said it is a lack of concentration on the part of the EC and bad faith from the EC and its IT team.