The spread of digital services is widening but consumers are not fully aware of the associated risks. Some experts talk about where Indian fintech stands on consumer data security and privacy
Tanuj Bhojwani, venture capitalist, Bharat Innovation Fund, and core volunteer, iSpirt
There are many types of fintechs at different levels of maturity, and their security practices vary. Currently, we depend on these companies’ fear of reputation loss, and in some cases, threat of regulations, to keep our data safe. But all of these measures are equivalent to a slap on the wrist. We must first push for a data protection law that gives us the freedom to transact with our data and holds corporations responsible for harms coming from bad security. Consumers should worry, but not to the point of paranoia. The current narrative around security has become prime-time ‘breaking news’ and we know how issues are treated there. Follow best practices to keep online identities and data safe. Use a password manager to generate and store passwords. It helps create stronger passwords. Don’t give more permissions or information (to apps or websites) than needed. Hackers can create near-identical copies of popular websites. Look for trusted sites That show a green lock icon on web browsers.
