Dhaka, Feb. 17 -- The Election Commission will no longer provide direct information of a national from its data server while rendering national identity verification services to firms as part of its plan to prevent data leaks to third parties, said Director General of EC's NID Registration Wing ASM Humayun Kabir on Monday.

"When they (firms) will put in information, we'll tell them whether it is 'matched' or 'unmatched,' or in other words, 'yes' or 'no.' They will have no problem in getting NID verification services," he said.

The NID Director General disclosed the decision while talking to reporters at his office in the capital.

He said a total of 182 firms now receive the NID verification services from the EC data server. Since 2014,...