Indian call centre security breaches exposed
Web posted at: 10/7/2006 8:17:10
BANGALORE • The security of Indian call centres has come under scrutiny after a British television programme’s investigation into data protection breaches, which industry officials worry could affect new business.
Britain’s Channel 4 said on its Web site that after a 12-month undercover investigation it would show in a programme that criminal networks in India had traded British consumers’ bank account details and other commercial information for huge profits.
“This certainly comes as a jolt. Many deals, which probably are on the table, will see some delays,” Raghu Raman, Chief Executive of information security consulting firm Mahindra Special Services Group, said. “For lobbies who are looking for ammunition against outsourcing, this definitely will be a major thing. The opposition against outsourcing of jobs to other countries will become much stronger.” India’s booming back-office sector — which provides services such as handling customer requests and payroll accounting at a fraction of the costs of the West — reported revenue of $6.3bn in the year to March 31, 2006. In 2006/07, the sector is expected to grow by 27 per cent and generate revenues of $8bn, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) said in a recent report. But a string of fraud cases has raised concerns about the industry, which employs around 400,000 people.
In June, a worker at a Bangalore call centre of HSBC Holdings was arrested after funds were taken from British bank customers. Media reports said 230,000 pounds ($414,000) was taken in the fraud, which was caught by internal security.
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