AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 5177 - IriTech is the first to obtain STQC certification for iris devices in Aadhaar authentication service

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

Thursday, February 27, 2014

5177 - IriTech is the first to obtain STQC certification for iris devices in Aadhaar authentication service

IriTech is the first to obtain STQC certification for iris devices in Aadhaar authentication service

FAIRFAX, Va., Feb. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

IriTech, Inc., the global leader in iris recognition technology and a member of the Texas Instruments Design Network, has been awarded with STQC certifications for iris authentication devices to be used in India's UIDAI project, which is currently about halfway to its ambitious goal of providing a unique ID to each of its 1.2 billion residents. IriTech received certifications for all three submitted camera models, namely IriShield MK 2120U, IriShield BK 2121U and IriHerald 1000MK.

To be certified, a product has to survive several rigorous tests, including the field FRR (False Reject Rate) test where it is required to operate in real-field environment (i.e., under varying lighting conditions and with actual human population) and output ISO 19794-6:2011 KIND-7 (cropped and masked - K7) images with sizes less than 2.5 KB to be sent to UIDAI's server for authentication. Any authentication attempt with an image other than K7 will be considered as noncompliant and strictly treated as a REJECT (NON-MATCH).

"That was a tough test," said Dr. Daehoon Kim, CEO of IriTech. "Not only should the device work robustly in various environmental conditions from dawn till dusk, but the associated K7 generator also has to be highly accurate to maintain sharp iris patterns under such a severe compression rate. Any error in extracting iris, pupil or eyelid boundaries will ruin the whole K7 record no matter how good the original captured image is. While the tolerance is set at 1%, IriTech is known to have passed the FRR test with an outstanding result."

According to IriTech, while the three certified devices share the same features of auto capture with built-in quality assessment and IEC 62471 - (eye safety) compliance, each was designed to meet different needs of customers.

IriShield^TM MK 2120U: a fully embedded monocular iris camera with ultra-compact form factor. Beyond an easy-to-use capturing feature, it is additionally embedded with several iris algorithms such as template generation and matching, ISO-compliant (K3/K7) image generation and PKI security functions completely on-board, allowing it to work smoothly with Windows/Linux machines and also with less powerful Android mobile devices.
IriShield^TM BK 2121U: a binocular (two eyes at a time) version of IriShield MK 2120U, sharing the same functions and capabilities with a relatively longer capturing distance.
IriHerald^TM 1000MK: a portable and easy-to-use monocular capturing device with USB interface.

For more information about the three devices and their quantity pricing, please contact IriTech Sales Team at sales@iritech.com.

About STQC

Standardization Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate is an India's government body providing quality assurance services in the area of Electronics and IT through countrywide network of laboratories and centers. STQC laboratories are having national/international accreditation and recognitions in the area of testing and calibration. Learn more at http://www.stqc.gov.in/content/about-stqc.

About IriTech, Inc.

IriTech is a Virginia-based iris technology provider well-known for its unique and accurate iris matching and iris image assessment algorithms. By embedding those algorithms into ultra-compact hardware, the company pioneers in introducing cost-effective yet high quality, easy-to-use and platform-independent iris cameras. Besides encased versions for end-users, the cameras can also be supplied as OEM modules with extensive SDK (software development kit) for customers to manufacture their own branded devices and/or develop their own application software. For more information on IriTech's various hardware and software product lines, please visit www.iritech.com.

Trademarks
All trademarks and registered trademarks belong to their respective owners.

About the Texas Instruments Design Network
IriTech, Inc. is a member of the TI Design Network, a premier group of independent, well-established companies that offer products and system-level design and manufacturing services complementing TI's semiconductors to a worldwide customer base to accelerate product innovation and time-to-market. Network members provide product design, hardware and software system integration, turnkey product design, RF and processor system modules, reference platforms, software development, proof-of-concept design, feasibility studies, research, certification compliance, prototyping, manufacturing, and product life cycle management. For more information about the TI Design Network, please visit http://www.ti.com/designnetwork.

SOURCE IriTech, Inc.