Ex-ICT Secretary Arrested in NID Data Breach Case
Former Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), NM Ziaul Alam, has been arrested in connection with a case filed over the alleged sale of National Identity (NID) data. Law enforcement officers apprehended him from the residence of his relative, Dr. Habib, in the Panchlaish residential area of Chattogram on Wednesday, March 5. Dr. Habib is a physician at Chattogram Medical College.
Later in the evening, a team from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) transferred him from Panchlaish Police Station to Dhaka, confirmed Mohammad Solaiman, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Panchlaish Police Station.
The case was filed on October 9 last year at Kafrul Police Station in the capital by a plaintiff named Enamul Haque under the Cyber Security Act. The complaint named 19 individuals as accused, including Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and former State Minister for ICT, Zunaid Ahmed Palak. According to the allegations, the accused were involved in leaking and selling NID data.
The case statement claims that a company named Digicon Global Services Limited was granted business authorization using NID data. Allegedly, without ensuring national security and personal data protection, Digicon sold the information to approximately 182 domestic and international entities. The complaint further states that the unauthorized sale of NID data resulted in the misappropriation of approximately Tk 200 billion.
