Tech

Government welfare databases in Brazil expose the most vulnerable

The Brazilian government holds detailed information on recipients of social programs. A lack of data protection safeguards puts these individuals at risk of serious privacy breaches

data leak brazil register government
Illustration: Blan-k/Shutterstock

The Brazilian government has hyper-detailed and up-to-date information on at least 80 million citizens — roughly 40 percent of the country’s population. 

These data even include how many drains there are in a given household or how much people weighed the last time they stepped on a scale.

The people on whom the government holds so much data come from different regions, live in different contexts, and have their own histories. But they share the fact that they live below the lines of poverty or extreme poverty, earning no more than BRL 210 (USD 38) per month.

They are part of the Cadastro Único (Single Register), a unified base of beneficiaries of social programs. In the government’s words, the register database is a “tool allowing the administration to better know the socioeconomic realities of low-income families.”

To enroll for aid programs, each head of household is required to fill in a form with 77 wide-ranging entries. 

The information is necessary for policy-making. It is crucial to draft and roll out the Auxílio Brasil cash-transfer program, which reaches over 20 million families. However, the lack of a strict data protection policy has led to a series of reports of leaks, scams, and the political use of citizens’ private information.

There is no such database with data about high-income Brazilians. Not even close to it. And getting information on the wealthy is increasingly difficult, as they do not rely on government programs and are less willing to answer household surveys.

“It’s a paradox. Data is important for a portion of the population to become visible to the state. But when the current databases started, some 20 years ago, the capacity for processing and crossing bases was low. Today it has changed, and any leak can cause serious damage to people,” says Mariana Valente, who researches technology and society, regulation of the digital economy, and fundamental rights in the online environment.

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