Experts express concerns about Indian Air Force's transportation MoU with Uber

Following the agreement, security experts and retired Army officials raised concerns about potential risks such as data exposure, location tracking, and third-party access to sensitive information, according to an India Today report.

Retired Army official Lt General KGS Dhillon expressed these concerns on X, advising the Air Force leadership to reassess the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Uber.

“One needs to seriously reconsider this. You are geo-tagging practically every Air Force personnel, making them vulnerable to live tracking,” the former Chinar Corps Commander said.

Pavithran Rajan, another retired Army officer and technology entrepreneur, echoed these views.

He stressed that, without data localization and indigenous Information and Communications Technology (ICT), enforcing strong data privacy laws remains challenging.

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy are the noise before defeat. I am not happy that the military brass is being ridiculed and belittled publicly. That said, now the important thing is to debate the can of worms that have been opened about India not having a sovereign cyberspace and the necessary laws to protect India,” Rajan said.

“It’s a wake-up call as a military defence of India without data localization and indigenous ICT, strong privacy laws is impossible,” he added.

The Indian Air Force signed the agreement with Uber on October 18 to ensure “reliable, convenient, and safe transportation services for IAF personnel, veterans, and families.”

In a post on X, the Air Force shared that the agreement was signed by Air Vice Marshal Updesh Sharma and a senior Uber official to facilitate travel for Air Force members and their families.

However, the post was later removed following public backlash on social media.