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

Sunday, August 20, 2017

11799 - Aadhaar data: These five steps will help you in protecting your privacy and confidentiality - First Post

Aadhaar data: These five steps will help you in protecting your privacy and confidentiality
BusinessBindisha Sarang
Aug, 17 2017 13:01:09 IST

Marlon Brando, once said, “Privacy is not something that I'm merely entitled to, it's an absolute prerequisite.” But that was Brando. When it comes to “privacy” in India, it’s certainly not our fundamental right, according to thisFirstpost report. If you are someone who wants to ensure that your Aadhaar data (at least the partial data-biometric) is secured, there’s a possible way to do so. Biometrics data is the fingerprint and iris data used for authentication. Read on.


Step1: The first thing you need to do to block your biometric data is to visit the UIDAI website. This website allows you to lock as well as temporary unlock your biometrics. According to UIDAI, "this facility is given to protect privacy and confidentiality of Resident's Biometrics Data." Yes, these are the Aadhaar authority's own words.
After locking the biometrics, the locked biometrics ensures that you won’t be able to use your biometrics for authentication. In short, the data is inaccessible. Authorities claim that this prevents potential misuse.
Step 2: Click the Lock/Unlock Biometrics option under the Aadhaar Services section. Once you do that, you are redirected to another page.
Step 3: Here you need to use your Aadhaar number to avail the Biometric lock system.
Step 4: Key in your Aadhaar details. To verify that you are a human and not a software, insert the Security Code (displayed already on the page) in the space box given, and then click on send OTP for another verification step. Enter the OTP number which you get on your registered mobile to start the login.
Step 5: Next you will see the status of your Aadhaar biometric data. For instance, “Your Biometric Lock is currently disabled.” Next is to insert the new Security Code mentioned on the page in the space box provided on the page to enable the lock. Then press the enable virtual button. By enabling lock, you can lock your biometrics (fingerprint & Iris) against any biometric authentication attempt.
Once your lock is enabled, you will get the following message: Congratulation! Your Biometrics is locked.
Now, you will not be able to authenticate by using your fingerprint or iris. Which means your data is locked.

Few important things to know:
Temporary unlocking: In the future, if you want to disable the lock temporarily to make your biometrics available for authentication requirements, these steps need to be followed.
To disable the locked biometrics, you will have to login using your Aadhaar number and repeat the procedure. The only difference is that you will get the unlock option this time instead of lock option. The unlock option temporarily unlocks the biometrics, so that you can use it for a period of around 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, it will automatically get locked again. You can also choose to disable the locking system, but I would recommend the former.
According to UIDAI, after locking biometrics if a UID is used for invoking any of the Authentication services using a biometric modality (Fingerprint/Iris) a specific error code '330' indicating biometrics are locked.

Regarding benefits: A few things to remember: Once your biometric data is locked, its authentication also gets blocked. If any benefits are linked to your Aadhaar number, locking makes no difference to that. Locking will restrict your data to the extent that you may not be able to authenticate it on any biometric devise. You can still continue to use Aadhaar-based authentication using the OTP-based authentication procedures. Thankfully, to lock and unlock the biometric data, you don’t have to remember any complex passwords to use this facility. All you need is your Aadhaar number and access to your registered mobile number.

On Aadhaar-based eKYC: Banks and telecom firms are increasingly using Aadhaar-based e-KYC, eliminating the need to submit physical documents. This process is followed because your fingerprints or iris scan are already done on a device, besides that UIDAI has your KYC details like name, date of birth and address already stored with it. Irrespective of whether you plan to use or not to use the Aadhaar based e-KYC, I recommend that you lock your biometric data.
Privacy and security have become the most important matter when it comes to our digital lives. We have all heard about the misuse of fingerprints by fraudsters. Locking your Aadhaar biometrics may not provide 100 percent security or privacy, but it definitely adds another layer of security.



Published Date: Aug 17, 2017 12:46 pm | Updated Date: Aug 17, 2017 01:01 pm
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