Brazil has decided to sell one of its state-controlled companies . However, as the privatization process progresses, some concerns are being raised about the data of citizens managed by this company.
Workers at the Social Security Technology and Information company (Dataprev) have officially expressed their objections to the government's decision to proceed with the sale of the company to raise 1.3 trillion reais (that is, $313 billion).
Dataprev provides IT services to Brazil's social welfare system . This means it manages and stores millions of citizens' data. Also on the privatization list is its data processing service , Serpro .
The two companies sent a document to Congress expressing their objections to this decision and raising questions about what will happen to the personal data of millions of Brazilian citizens, managed by Dataprev and Serpro.
At one point in the document, the employees state that if Serpro and Dataprev data are transferred to private servers (which is very likely), the security data of all citizens registered in the social security system will be undermined.
“This could jeopardize national sovereignty over extremely sensitive data,” he added.
The government has not yet made any statement on how it will manage the situation to limit the risks associated with citizens' data.
The two companies (Dataprev and Serpro) are involved in the development, maintenance and operation of thousands of government systems. One of their core competencies is providing platforms for tax reporting and payments, serving over 35 million people. In addition, they develop innovative applications that use biometrics to confirm the identity of citizens receiving state benefits.
The document, sent to Congress, also argued that companies that manage so much critical data should not be on the privatization list.
The workers claim that by abandoning the possibility of developing technologies in this sector and transforming these organizations into a passive consumer, Brazil is not taking care of the development of the state but is heading in the opposite direction.
Finally, the document emphasizes that: “This is a policy that will widen the gap that separates us from other nations, which focus on investment in research and technology.”
