UIDAI will issue 16-digit virtual ID to secure Aadhaar privacy Jacquelyn Byrd14 January 2018, 03:28
While "global authentication user agencies" will get to access the entire KYC gamut and the Aadhaar number, smaller, local authentication agencies will be given the virtual IDs.
210 government published at least 13 crore Aadhaar numbers in the past and the risk of people having these numbers already is very high.
UIDAI has been under the scanner over the past few months over allegations of access of personal information by random entities without the consent of individual Aadhaar holders.
It will not be possible to derive Aadhaar number from VID. The UIDAI on Wednesday introduced a new security layer to address the privacy concerns related to Aadhaar.
A day after the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) introduced a new concept of 'Virtual ID' for Aadhaar card holders, former finance minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram hinted that it was too late an attempt.
The flaw, according to a Hindustan Times report, is based on the USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) that was publically shared by UIDAI in December and tells the user if their bank account has been linked with their Aadhaaar number or not. VIDs being temporary can not be de-duplicated and as an added precaution, agencies that undertake authentication will not be allowed to generate VIDs on behalf of Aadhaar holders.
The VID will be a temporary, revocable 16-digit random number mapped with the Aadhaar number. Read also: Should We Link Aadhaar or Not? "I think, everybody has to accept Aadhaar is here to stay", The former UIDAI chief said. However, the new system of KYC does not require the Aadhaar Number. The details of this new virtual ID that UIDAI is creating are still coming in so for now it is not clear how it will work.
The first relates to the report by Buzzfeed News that the creator of Aadhaar, and the head of UIDAI from 2009 to 2014, Nandan Nilekani, himself had tweeted out his Aadhaar number, with the first 8 digits redacted. The Aadhaar-issuing body will offer means to generate the VID via the resident portal, at an Aadhaar Kendra (Aadhaar centre) or via mobile app mAadhaar.
This will allow Aadhaar holders to generate a 16-digit temporary number that can be shared with a bank, insurance company and telecom service providers instead of the 12-digit Aadhaar number. UIDAI will categorize all AUAs into two categories - "Global AUAs" and "Local AUAs". Only name, photograph and address of the person can be accessed via this Virtual ID. This will also reduce the ability to merge databases across agencies thus enhancing privacy substantially. When will the limited KYC and UID Tokens be in place? The second kind, would get limited access as per requirement, therefore better safe-guarding the Aadhaar-card holders. The UIDAI's and the government's cavalier attitude towards security in Aadhaar has been exposed many times over. VID launch is on March 1, so you won't have to wait for long. All of these service providers will have to advance their systems to compulsorily allow for the new instrument from June. Any non-compliance will invite action in the form of financial disincentives and termination of the said Agreement.
Newburgh Gazette http://newburghgazette.com/2018/01/14/uidai-will-issue-16-digit-virtual-id-to-secure-aadhaar/