In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.
On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.
In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.
In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.
In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.
"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi
Ram Krishnaswamy
Sydney, Australia.

Aadhaar

The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018

When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi

“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.

Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.

Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha

“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh

But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP

“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.

August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden

In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.

Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.

Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.

UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy

1) Denial

2) Issue fiats and point finger

3) Shoot messenger

4) Bury head in sand.

God Save India

Monday, March 19, 2018

12999 - No IT system, including Aadhaar, can claim to be 100% safe: Report - Gadgets Now


PTI | Updated: Mar 14, 2018, 10.20PM IST

No IT systems across the world can claim to be safe, including Aadhaar, due to rise in complexity of cyber attacks, Indian arm of London Stock Exchange listed security software maker Sophos today said. 

"No CIO today can say with hand on his heart that his systems are 100 per cent vulnerability free," Sophos Managing Director - sales for India and Saarc, Sunil Sharma said at the sidelines of launch of the report on 'The State of Endpoint Security'. 

When asked his view on Aadhaar, which claims to be completely safe and secure, he said "in terms of vulnerabilities, no one can claim that his system is 100 per cent safe"



Here's how to link your mobile number with Aadhaar sitting at home

Linked your mobile number to Aadhaar? Hassled about the idea of visiting an offline store and standing in line to get this done? Worry not, as the government has made the process easier for mobile subscribers who can now link their Aadhaar number sitting at home. All one needs to do is call on '14546', the new single number for Interactive Voice Response (IVR) services launched to facilitate the mobile-Aadhaar linking. The new IVR process saves users from the trouble of visiting an offline store to get this done. The service also allows mobile subscribers with multiple numbers to link their Aadhaar number as well.

Call on '14546'. Here too terms are bit different depending on the telecom operator. For example, Airtel requires users to call from their registered mobile number, this number that is linked to your Aadhaar card.

The IVR will ask you if you are an Indian national or a foreign national. Choose your option. Indian nationals need to press '1', foreign nationals are required to press '2

After this you will be asked to give your consent to share your Aadhaar card number with the mobile service provider under the Aadhar Act. To give consent press '1'.

In next step, you need to share your 12-digit Aadhaar number. The confirmation process here can be different depending on your telco. In case of Vodafone, IVR repeats your Aadhaar and subscribers need to confirm by pressing '1'. To re-enter, press '2'.

If the number is correct, you will be prompted to generate OTP.

An OTP will now come to the mobile number shared in your Aadhaar card.

To complete the Aadhaar re-verification process, enter the six-digit OTP. Remember, this OTP is valid for 30 minutes.

You will be asked about any alternate mobile number/numbers linked to this Aadhaar.

Users who have more than one number linked to their Aadhaar card can link them too by pressing on the digit '2'. Here again, you will need to keep the phone handy to receive OTP and finish the authentication process.

By sharing your Aadhaar number with your telecom service provider, you will agree to share all the details on your Aadhaar like name, gender, address, date of birth and more with the company.

Entering the OTP here is equivalent to your signature to re-verify your mobile number with Aadhaar card.

Once done, you will receive an SMS saying that your Aadhaar re-verification process has been successfully accepted and that you will receive an SMS asking for your confirmation after 26 hours.

You will also get an e-mail on your registered ID from UIDAI, the nodal agency that issues Aadhaar number, confirming that your "Aadhaar number XXXXXXXXXXXX was used successfully to carry out Authentication using OTP." The message will also share information including date, time when the authentication was done.

Users who have more than one number linked to their Aadhaar card can link them. Here again, you will need to keep the phone handy to receive OTP and finish the re-verification process.

Email sent to Unique Identification Authority of India, custodian of Aadhaar, elicited no immediate reply. 

The survey of Sophos, covering 2,700 IT decision makers including 300 in India, revealed that more than 70 per cent surveyed do not have anti-exploit technology, which means these businesses are easy prey for data breaches and complex threats like WannaCry. 

As per the survey, despite the intensity and magnitude of attacks, Indian businesses are still not prepared to defend itself against determined attackers. 

"According to those impacted by ransomware last year, the median total cost of a ransomware attack was $133,000. Indian organisations median total cost stood at $1.17 million, the highest, in rectifying the impacts of ransomware. This extends beyond any ransom demanded and includes downtime, manpower, device cost, network cost, and lost opportunities," the report said.

Ransomware is a malicious software that locks system of a user and demands payment for unlocking it. Around 67 per cent of Indian entities covered in the survey were hit by ransomware last year. 

Globally, more than 70 per cent of IT professionals surveyed were unable to identify the correct definition of anti-exploit technology, despite how critical it is for modern attack prevention, the report said.

"91 per cent Indian organisations claimed to running up-to-date endpoint protection when impacted by ransomware and 89 per cent India respondents stated that malware threats have got more complex over the last year," as per the report.

Globally, as per the survey, healthcare sector was most impacted by ransomware with 76 per cent of entities in the segment admitted to have been hit by the malicious software.
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