NEW DELHI: The Government has issued a notice to Cambridge Analytica asking for the names of entities that have engaged it in allegedly utilising data of Indians from the breach in Facebook database.In a notice that went out on Friday, the entity was asked to send in its response on six specific queries by March 31, failing which it may face legal action from the Ministry of Information and Technology.The questions in the notice are as follows:1. Whether they have been engaged in any assignment to utilize data of Indians from the above cited breach?2. Who are the entities that have engaged them for the above?3. How did they come to be in possession of such data?4. Was consent taken from the individuals?5. How was such data collected used?6. Was there any profiling done on the basis of such data?Earlier in the day, CERT issued an advisory asking Facebook users not to share their voting preferences on social media networking site besides following other general safeguards. These include:* Do not post private information and do not disclose your location. Facebook being part of a public network could allow easy access to information which should not be disclosed.* It is advised that Facebook and all other social media users should not share their Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Personal Information (PI) on these sites or Apps.* Users should not share official data or personal secrets on social media messaging platforms. Social media users should never share details like there vote preferences, PIN, passwords, credit card details, banking details, Passport Details, Aadhaar Card details and all those details which are meant to be kept secret for personal safety & security.* Do not allow unknown / untrusted applications to access your Facebook account.* Be diligent in giving permission to third party apps that can access public profile, which includes name, profile pictures, username, user ID (account number), networks including your friends list, gender, age range and locale.* Do not open messages/images received from untrusted sources or received unexpectedly from trusted sources.* Use Strong Account-Specific Passwords Create a strong password which includes symbols, capital Letters, and lower-case letters.While noting that the Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had apologised for the mistakes his company had made in handling data, the government has expressed concern over "downstream players" like Cambridge Analytica and its alleged associates involved in the data breach.The notice issued on Friday, officials said, draws attention to alleged "serious breach of propriety and misuse of data intended to profile and influence voting behavior" including claims that "elections in India were sought to be influenced through questionable means".The notice to Cambridge Analytica also sought an immediate response on which entities have engaged it for such assignments, how it came to be in possession of such data, whether consent was obtained from the individuals concerned, and how such data collected was used.It also threatened legal action against companies and individuals that have misused information and sought to influence elections in the country. Cambridge Analytica is under scrutiny for allegedly harvesting data from millions of Facebook users to influence elections globally, including the 2016 US presidential race.“The fairness of Indian democracy and electoral process is a matter of pride and any attempt to influence the sanctity of the electoral franchise through dubious and questionable means is unacceptable,” the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) said in a release on Friday.“In particular, all intermediaries and their associates have the legal obligation to maintain security, confidentiality and sanctity of data, and any unauthorised use of data can entail legal action.” The government’s notice to the British analytics firm included queries on its engagement, entities it worked with, how it sourced user data, whether it sought consent from users, and whether there was any user profiling.“While the government is cognizant of the positive role played by social media in promoting awareness and acting as a tool for social cohesion and empowerment, breach of privacy cannot be tolerated,” the statement said.Both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) and the opposition Congress have accused each other of contracting Cambridge Analytica and its Indian affiliate Ovleno Business Intelligence to profile voters using their Facebook data and influence the outcome of elections. Cambridge Analytica has listed the work it did in the 2010 Bihar elections as a case study on its website.Ovleno, which has shut its website, had claimed that it worked for the JDU, Congress and BJP. On Wednesday, Union IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said the government was open to an enquiry and if needed could also summon Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for an explanation.Zuckerberg has already apologised for the mistakes his company made in handling data belonging to users and has promised tougher steps to restrict access to such information. CERT-IN issued an advisory explaining security best practices to be followed by social media users in order to safeguard personally identifiable information on social network sites The controversy has revived the debate over data protection and privacy laws in India as the country currently lacks a robust framework to handle such breaches.The government had last year set up a panel led by former Supreme Court justice BN Srikrishna to recommend measures that could be included in a data protection bill.