We might have the technology but is the process through which the technology is being used sound enough?
ISLAMABAD: This is with reference to the article by Tariq Malik titled “Using big data for big decisions” (February 12). The true measure of any organisation is whether it can be self-sustaining, i.e., once it is set up, can it continue to operate profitably (or, at least, sustain itself). This can be done through selling services or technology. Granted that NADRA is a government department that has developed expertise in a certain area and is marketing its services to other countries, but is running such a huge organisation really worth the expense or is it just another white elephant consuming billions every year with little to show for it?
As we all know, all the NADRA security features for protecting national identity cards are dependent on the people entering the data. If there is a security breach there, and we know there have been as most Afghan refugees and a lot of other immigrants walk around carrying Pakistani CNICs, then the question of having ‘big data’ is moot as it already has been compromised. We might have the technology but is the process through which the technology is being used sound enough?
A Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, February 14th, 2014.
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