2 weeks Ago By K Kalyan Krishna Kumar
VIJAYAWADA/KAKINADA: As many as 232 government health employees in the State have been caught tampering with facial recognition attendance systems using State-issued iPhones, with 460 manipulation attempts recorded across 26 districts—raising urgent questions about digital governance, staff accountability, and potential disciplinary action. The tampering involved altering the date and time settings on iPhones to fake log-ins and falsely mark attendance in the Medical and Family Welfare Department. The discovery was made during a recent official review, prompting concern among senior administrators and triggering discussions on tighter controls.
An internal audit revealed that the manipulated devices belonged to Civil Assistant Surgeons, Assistant Professors, Programme Coordinators, Consultants, Staff Nurses, MLHPs, Data Entry Operators, and other personnel. Alarmingly, even staff from the MD National Health Mission were involved. Officials said some employees attempted to bypass the system repeatedly—one officer made 14 attempts, another 12, with several others making between six and nine attempts.
Srikakulam recorded the highest number of violations, with 25 employees making 61 attempts. It was followed by NTR (24 staff, 49 attempts), Parvathipuram Manyam (16 staff, 39 attempts), Annamayya (13 staff, 33 attempts), and Bapatla (12 staff, 32 attempts). Other districts, including Konaseema, Prakasam, Vizag, Kakinada, and Krishna, also reported numerous cases.
The State had introduced facial recognition attendance systems after earlier instances of staff using latex thumb covers to manipulate fingerprint-based systems. However, this new method of tampering has exposed persistent vulnerabilities in digital monitoring tools. Logs from the mobiles’ automated syncing system helped detect irregularities, which led to the audit.
Health department officials are now considering measures such as locking device settings, conducting periodic audits, and enabling real-time alerts to prevent further abuse. Complicating the situation, sources said some employee unions are lobbying to shield the staff involved, potentially stalling disciplinary action. The episode has cast a spotlight on the challenges of digital accountability in public services, prompting calls for swift corrective measures to safeguard public funds and restore trust in the system.
Speaking to TNIE, BV Rao, Deputy Director of Health and Family Welfare and State FRS Nodal Officer, said that charge memos would be issued to all staff found to have tampered with the Facial Recognition System (FRS), following verification, as 10 individuals have raised objections. He stated that strict action would be taken against the errant staff. He added that, going forward, attendance will be monitored from the server, which has been updated following the issue coming to light on Thursday.
He clarified that the problem was limited to iPhone users, with no complaints reported from Android users. He admitted that some individuals who were absent or reported late manipulated the FRS to alter the timestamp after reaching their workplace..
