EaseMyTrip founder raises security concerns over Chinese app

Nishant Pitti, founder and chairman of EaseMyTrip, raised concerns about the national security risks associated with travel platforms with significant Chinese ownership.

He highlighted that these apps could potentially access sensitive data, including Indian passport information.

Pitti urged travelers to consider whether the platforms they use align with India’s interests, tagging several government bodies, including the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

The company advised Indian travelers to be cautious when choosing travel platforms and destinations, citing safety and national security concerns.

🔗 Source: ANI

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ India’s history of massive data breaches amplifies passport security concerns

India has experienced several catastrophic data breaches that provide critical context for the current warnings about passport data.

In 2018, the World Economic Forum identified India as the site of the largest data breach globally, with the Aadhaar database exposing personal information of 1.1 billion citizens after access was reportedly being sold for just Rs 500 per 10 minutes1.

This pattern continued with other high-profile incidents, including Zomato’s 2017 breach affecting 17 million users and the State Bank of India’s server vulnerability that exposed customer transaction details from its 740 million active accounts2.

These precedents highlight why EaseMyTrip’s warning about foreign access to passport data resonates particularly strongly in India, where past breaches have repeatedly compromised citizen information at a massive scale.

The historical vulnerability of Indian systems to data breaches creates a heightened sensitivity around sensitive travel documents, especially when foreign entities with potential geopolitical conflicts are involved in data handling.

2️⃣ National security concerns emerge as India’s travel sector approaches $500 billion value

The timing of EaseMyTrip’s warning coincides with India’s travel market entering a critical growth phase.

India’s travel sector contributed over $221 billion to GDP in 2023 and is projected to nearly double to $500 billion by 2034, with the online travel segment specifically growing at 12-13% annually3.

Tourism generated 76.17 million jobs in 2022-23, up from 70.04 million the previous year, making it a strategically important sector for national development4.