Patiala, Sept. 15 -- Sans two-step authentication, the sensitive personal data - such as bank accounts and family particulars - of over seven lakh construction workers registered with the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare (BOCW) Board is just a click away by simply entering registration numbers or mobile numbers of labourers. Workers say the state-run portal has left them exposed to fraud risk. In Punjab, any construction worker whose age is between 18 and 60 years and has worked in the state in any construction work for a minimum of 90 days in a year is registered with the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare (BOCW) Board. Over 7 lakh workers are registered with the board. As per the available information, anyone can get personal details of any worker by just entering his labour registration or mobile number on the Punjab BOCW Board website. Concerned over the privacy risk, a workers' union has already written to the board's secretary, but to no avail. Sardara Singh, president, Dr Ambedkar Workers' Union, Punjab, said, "We have already informed the board regarding the breach of personal data of construction workers but no action has been taken. A person anywhere in the world can get details of bank account, address, mobile numbers and family details. This information can easily be misused. This is a clear violation of the Right to Privacy ensured under Article 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty) of the Constitution, which is a fundamental right." Raghvir Singh, a construction worker, said, "The Punjab BOCW Board should introduce a two-factor authentication step that should entail feeding one-time password (OTP) sent on registered mobile numbers." Singh added that the personal information of workers could be used by cyber fraudsters because they, time and again, receive direct benefit transfer (DBT). When contacted, Manvesh Sidhu, principal secretary, Punjab labour department, said, "This could be due to some technical glitch. It shouldn't have happened. We will write to the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to correct it."...