New Delhi: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has asked the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) to conduct a forensic security audit of its VAHAN, SARATHI, e-Challan and PUCC portals after vehicle owners' personal data was found being sold through apps and Telegram channels for as little as Rs 5, The Hindu reported.
Source: The Hindu, via EaseMyPrep summary
According to the report, the data on sale included an owner's full name, father's name, present and permanent addresses, PIN code and mobile number, and in some cases driving-licence details, challan history, FASTag information and downloadable registration certificate and licence PDFs. The exposure was flagged by the security firm Cyderes, NewsPlainly reported, summarising the same findings.
Source: NewsPlainly
Cyderes said it did not find a breach of a government database itself; the seller appeared to be using real access credentials issued to licensed identity-verification companies, NewsPlainly said. That distinction matters: the audit is expected to trace how data moved from authorised access channels into open sale.
Source: NewsPlainly
The ministry has also written to Google and other app-store operators asking them to remove offending apps, including a 'Vehicle Information App' with about 10 million (yaani 1 crore) downloads and 'VehicleSetu – RC & Challan Info' with about 1 million (yaani 10 lakh) downloads, the report said.
Source: The Hindu, via EaseMyPrep summary
The ministry has further sought the intervention of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to review and strengthen the data-sharing policy for the National Transport Repository, and said it will audit the enforcement agencies that access its portals, the report added. The Hindu carried the story among its October 25 front-page and news items: 'Road Ministry seeks forensic audit of its portals after vehicle data leak' and 'Govt. orders security audit of key transport portals after reports of data being sold online.'
Source: The Hindu headlines, October 25, 2026, via IAS Squad
Sources: The Hindu report, October 25, 2026, as summarised by EaseMyPrep and NewsPlainly; The Hindu October 25 headlines listing via IAS Squad.