AP: 232 health staff caught tampering with Facial Recognition Attendance

Vijayawada: In a major breach of digital integrity in public services, 232 government health employees in Andhra Pradesh have been caught tampering with facial recognition-based attendance systems using State-issued iPhones. An internal review has revealed 460 manipulation attempts across 26 districts, raising serious concerns about accountability in public services and the reliability of digital governance systems.

The tampering involved altering the date and time settings on iPhones to falsify attendance records in the Medical and Family Welfare Department, a discovery that has alarmed senior health administrators and triggered a deeper investigation into loopholes in the digital monitoring infrastructure.

The employees involved include civil assistant surgeons, assistant professors, consultants, programme coordinators, staff nurses, MLHPs, data entry operators, and even members from the MD National Health Mission.

Officials revealed that some staff were repeat offenders—one employee attempted to manipulate the system 14 times, while others made multiple attempts ranging from 6 to 12 times.

Also Read: Delhi AIIMS launches Facial Recognition Access Control System to enhance patient safety

The Facial Recognition System (FRS) was introduced after earlier incidents of staff manipulating fingerprint-based systems using latex thumb covers. However, the iPhone-related exploitation has exposed new vulnerabilities in the digital attendance mechanism.

Logs from the automated mobile syncing systems helped detect irregularities, triggering the audit that exposed the widespread misuse. In response, health department officials are now exploring measures such as locking device settings, implementing periodic audits, and activating real-time alerts to prevent further misuse.

Complicating the issue, sources say employee unions are lobbying to shield the guilty, raising concerns about possible delays in enforcing disciplinary action. This has sparked calls for transparent and swift intervention to restore credibility in public healthcare governance.

Also Read: TN Govt Doctors Oppose Implementation of Facial Recognition-based Attendance 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.

According to TNIE, 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.