AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 12623 - FIR filed in Aadhaar data leak case; all info safe, says UIDAI

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 6, 2018

12623 - FIR filed in Aadhaar data leak case; all info safe, says UIDAI - TNN

FIR filed in Aadhaar data leak case; all info safe, says UIDAI

TNN | Updated: Jan 5, 2018, 11:55 IST

HIGHLIGHTS

UIDAI said Aadhaar is not a secret number.
It is to be shared with authorised agencies whenever an Aadhaar holder wishes to avail a certain service or benefit from government schemes, says UIDAI.

NEW DELHI/ CHANDIGARH: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has registered an FIR for unauthorised access to Aadhaar data, such as names and other demographic details, due to the misuse of the grievance redressal facility at the office of the Surat district administration in Gujarat. The breach came to light following a report in The Tribune that claimed an "agent" available on WhatsApp facilitated access by a login ID and password to the particulars of any Aadhaar number.

The agent, the report claimed, was paid Rs 500 through Paytm. Particulars such as name, address, postal code, photo, phone number and email were accessed and the Aadhaar card printed, the report said. UIDAI denied that the breach allowed access to millions of Aadhaar cardholders' details, saying the search facility is available for the purpose of grievance redressal to designated personnel and state government officials and details are limited to the particular Aadhaar number punched in.

The system did not provide an avenue to other cardholders. Demographic information cannot be misused without biometrics, UIDAI said. An FIR has been filed at Mohali from where the "purchase" of access to Aadhaar data was reported. Officials said they are taking the unauthorised use of the grievance mechanism seriously and will work with police to trace people involved in making the login ID and password available to a private entity, which will also be investigated. "UIDAI assures there has not been any Aadhaar data breach. The Aadhaar data, including biometric information, is fully safe," UIDAI said, adding the redressal mechanism was intended to help residents by entering their Aadhaar or enrolment number.

Stating that the given case appears to be a misuse of the grievance redressal search facility, UIDAI said it maintains a complete log and traceability and legal action will follow. "UIDAI reiterates that the grievance redressal search facility gives only limited access to name and other details and has no access to biometric details," it said.

The media report also mentioned that groups operating on the internet targeted village-level enterprise (VLE) operators operating under the Common Service Centres Scheme and said the VLEs had gained illegal access to Aadhaar data to subsequently claim to provide "Aadhaar services". A UID official said they were looking at the claim but pointed out that enrolment agents did not have access to the Aadhaar system.

With the Supreme Court due to soon pronounce on the validity of the use of Aadhaar for a range of services, the claim of a data theft raised a flurry of reactions, with Left leaders saying the incident exposed the frailty of the UID system. Senior police officials told TOIthat by entering Aadhaar numbers, one could get details that are available on an Aadhaar card, along with the phone number. Kiran Jonnalagadda, cofounder at tech discussion forum HasGeek and Internet Freedom Foundation, said the Aadhaar system is insecure.

"The backdoor has already been opened. It is quite easy to hack into their systems and the stolen demographic identities can be misused in a lot of ways," he said. He is one of the petitioners in a change.org petition demanding proper auditing of Aadhaar database. Aperson working with the government on Aadhaar-related projects said while leaks should not happen, no material leak had happened in this case.

"Aadhaar has less information about you than even the voter ID card," he said, adding that such leaks could happen even in the voter ID card system or the RTO. The Indian system does not allow any agency, including the government, to access a resident's data, without authorisation from the person. He said telecom operators and others in the US can look up a citizen's data by accessing his/her social security number without even the citizen knowing about it.

TOP COMMENT

why FIR then, if all safe

Raju

UIDAI said Aadhaar is not a secret number. It is to be shared with authorised agencies whenever an Aadhaar holder wishes to avail a certain service or benefit from government schemes.