Bangladesh Election Commission Website Leak Exposes Data of 14,000 Journalists
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The Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh suffered a significant data breach on its official website, exposing the personal details of approximately 14,000 journalists. The incident occurred during the accreditation process for the upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad election.
The leak was probably caused by system misconfiguration the Election Commission's newly implemented online application portal. For the first time, the commission mandated online submissions for journalists seeking accreditation cards and vehicle stickers for election coverage. Reports indicate that any user logging into the designated portal could view the entire list of applicants and their private documents without authorization. The data remained accessible to the public for nearly two hours before the commission addressed the leak.
The exposed data includes:
- Full names of applicants
- National Identity (NID) numbers
- Mobile phone numbers
- Personal photographs
- Digital signatures
- Complete copies of application forms
The number of affected individuals is approximately 14,000.
The Election Commission had previously withdrawn the mandatory online application requirement following pushback from the media community, but thousands had already submitted their data before the policy change.
Senior Secretary of the Election Commission, Akhtar Ahmed, stated he was unaware of the leak when initially questioned by reporters. The commission has not yet detailed specific containment measures or confirmed if they have notified the affected journalists individually.
