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

Saturday, January 26, 2013

2792 - Toothless telecom ministry compromises the privacy and peace of mobile users




Helpless against SMS menace: Toothless telecom ministry compromises the privacy and peace of mobile users
SUHAS MUNSHI  | New Delhi, October 31, 2012 | 08:30


Even Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal is a victim of unsolicited text messages.
Dear Mr XYZ, book your dream home this Diwali @ Sec 113, Noida, for Rs 20 lakh. Hurry, bookings are open only till October 31. SMS OMG to12345.

A message like this from a real estate agent at a time when you are actually keen to book a flat is enough to grab your attention.

If you are impressed with the "extensive research" of the agent on not just your requirement, but also your name, gender and budget estimate, don't be. Your personal details are available in the market for a paltry 2 paise.

And it's not just you. Each and every individual using a mobile phone or a landline connection is being tracked by phone number brokers and hounded by telemarketers. The menace is only increasing and the telecom ministry seems as helpless as its minister, Kapil Sibal, who too has not been spared by the pesky telemarketers. Speaking at the Worldwide Cyber-security Summit in the Capital on Tuesday, Sibal said: "Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ) is taking it up (pesky calls/SMS texts issue). I also face lot of problems. Every two minutes I get such SMS…I met Trai chairman (Rahul Khullar). He will ensure that this is not going to happen anymore." 

The minister's assurance sounds far-fetched when you realise that nothing is hidden from the prying eyes of pesky message senders, who are making a fortune out of your personal details.

From your bank account customer Id to your car number and home loan details, all such important and personal information can be accessed from a phone number broker based in the dingy lanes of the Capital.


Mail Today tracked down one such broker in Lakshmi Nagar who said he possesses several lakh phone numbers that he can deliver through an email attachment. "My phone number bank is quite huge so you need not bother yourself with selecting your target consumers. Based on your requirements, I can provide you with phone numbers of people with more than Rs 5 lakh annual salary.The information will be provided region wise so that you can target your consumers accordingly," said the broker, whose number was accessed from one of the many yellow pages portals with details of services available in the Capital.

Within minutes of transfer of Rs 2,000 to the broker's account; name, age, gender, mobile phone numbers (prepaid or post paid) and addresses of one lakh people living in a particular region and of course drawing similar salaries, reached the email of this correspondent.

The broker even offered to provide more specific information such as bank account details, vehicle details, landline numbers etc. if the correspondent was willing to pay a little more. Separate lists for high net worth individuals, stock market investors, MDs and CEOs of companies could also be purchased for a little higher amount.

The broker said his business has diversified since he first started selling the numbers. "Over the past one year, we have provided the numbers to political campaigners, marketing executives and telecallers who use them based on their requirement," he said.


Click here to Enlarge
With the availability of USB SIM card modem, which has spawned an illegal bulk SMS industry around itself, the need for lists of phone numbers - segregated on the basis of region, income, profession, gender etc - has increased tremendously, helping a parallel black market of private information grow around it.

The increasing demand in the market has brought in competition among the brokers who are now consolidating their database with the most personal of people's details. Helping them with the information are their 'contacts' in different sectors - telecom operators, banks, vehicle breakdown service providers, insurance agents among others.

"People with this precious data don't sell it cheap. The actual cost to buy SMS lists depends on the selection criteria, complexity and the volume you are buying. The more you buy, the less you pay for the details," a broker said. The rate of the brokers also varies with the information they supply. A broker agreed to email a national database, comprising only phone numbers, for Rs 1,500.

Another one offered to provide details like name, address, cell phone number, landline number of 5 lakh Delhiites for Rs 5,000. A third broker offered to sell similar information of 14 lakh Delhiites for Rs 5,000, the source of which he revealed was a telecom operator. Rajan Mathews, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India, agreed that the facility of messaging is being misused. He, however, excused the operators from the responsibility, saying: "We had proposed a differential tariff for messages beyond 200 per day, but it did not work out. With no restriction, the SMS facility is being misused. The operators cannot be blamed for it," he said.

According to cyber law experts, the Indian legal system leaves much to be desired in terms of preventing illegal data sharing and data protection. "No deterrence for such crimes and little reactive action from the consumers and the authorities are not only giving rise to brazen sharing of personal details but also scaring away data centric businesses from the country," said an expert.

"Sharing data is still not a crime. There is no data protection law in the country and this has given a virtual impunity to people making money by selling people's information," said cyber law expert Pavan Duggal. "Given the complete disregard for privacy in the country, it's not surprising that India is the number one spam generating country in the world," he added.

The Delhi Police, meanwhile, claimed to have a mechanism in place to curb the menace. "Till now we haven't received any complaint of this nature. However, we have a mechanism - Cyber Cell - to deal with crimes relating to breach of privacy through such [phone broker] list," said K.K. Vyas, DCP, economic offences wing, Delhi Police.

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