AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 12689 - The Key Security Factors In Aadhaar Authentication -

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 20, 2018

12689 - The Key Security Factors In Aadhaar Authentication -

The Key Security Factors In Aadhaar Authentication

by Sohini Bagchi Jan 18, 2018

Earlier this month, a journalist for The Tribune, recently reported a database breach of Aadhaar report details a transaction in which she was able to get a login and password to access a Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) portal. With this access, one can enter a person’s Aadhaar number and obtain their name, photo, sex, age, address, and potentially their contact details. The UIDAI denied that it is a breach, which was again highly debatable. Nonetheless, following the allegations, the authority has announced several steps to secure Aadhaar data.

Face recognition: From July 1, Aadhaar authentication - the process in which the Unique Identity Number or Aadhaar number will be possible through face recognition, yet another measure to tighten security to its existing modes. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has announced face recognition as an additional means of Aadhaar authentication and said it will release necessary details for implementation by March 1, 2018.

The move came days after the UIDAI - the issuer of the 12-digit Unique Identity Number as well as Aadhaar card - introduced a 16-digit temporary number, called Virtual ID, as an alternative method to authenticate their identity for various services. Currently, Aadhaar system supports authentication at different levels, such as one-time PIN (OTP) based, biometric-based and multi-factor (a combination of two or more modes), according to the UIDAI website - uidai.gov.in.

As per reports, Face authentication will be an optional mode of authentication to be allowed on a ” need basis”, used in combination with existing ways such as fingerprint or iris scan, according to the UIDAI.

“Since face photo is already available in UIDAI database there is no need to capture any new reference data at UIDAI CIDR (Central Identities Data Repository),” the UIDAI said in a statement, adding that face authentication, which is aimed at providing easy authentication for those individuals who face a difficulty in other biometric authentication, will be available in production for Authentication User Agencies (AUAs) to use by July 1, 2018, it has said.

Aadhaar Virtual ID or VID: The virtual identity or virtual ID (VID) will be a random 16-digit number mapped to the Aadhaar number of a citizen. The VID will not be duplicable by agencies performing authentication of Aadhaar number, and hence, will ensure safety of the Aadhaar number. The ID, similar to a debit card, will come with an expiration date.

According to a statement by UIDAI, which administers Aadhaar, the VID can be generated and revoked only by the Aadhaar number holder through channels such as the Aadhaar portal and the mAadhaar mobile app. If so required, a new VID can be generated by the Aadhaar holder for each new transaction, and the previous ID will automatically become redundant.

Last week, Nandan Nilekani, the UIDAI architect also backed the virtual ID arrangement announced by the UIDAI. He said, “everybody has to accept Aadhaar is here to stay,” and with virtual IDs, UIDAI has taken a step in that direction.

Limited KYC: The UIDAI has further introduced limited KYC (know your customer) process wherein only some entities, categorised as global authentication user agency (global AUA), will be allowed to store a citizen’s Aadhaar number, while others, known as local AUAs will not be allowed to store Aadhaar numbers.

These agencies will be given a UIDAI token specific to them, to enable them to uniquely identify their customers. The UID token, a unique character for system usage, will be unique to every authentication request made by a global or local AUA.

Currently, every agency that uses Aadhaar for KYC authenticates a user and often stores a person’s Aadhaar number. However, the new measures do not specify what happens to the Aadhaar numbers that have already been stored by public or private entities.

Nonetheless, security measures around Aadhaar authentication continues to be a debatable issue, and is subjected to scruitiny, as, in a recent interview with ET Now, RS Sharma, Chairman, TRAI, said, “…sharing Aadhaar password and username with somebody who can do transactions is not a data breach, it is a breach of trust.”

Despite that, reports show that Indian citizens are showing a strong interest in new biometric technologies more than existing security system such as passwords and pins. A new survey by digital payments major Visa showed that new forms of authentication, such as fingerprint, facial, and voice recognition, can make unlocking accounts and payments much easier and more convenient than traditional passwords or PINs - which are difficult to type onto tiny keyboards, easy to forget, and can be stolen.

Hence UIDAI’s move aims to strengthen the privacy and security of Aadhaar data, that comes amid heightened concerns around the collection and storage of personal and demographic data of individuals - can be a success only when implemented effectively.

Tags: biometrics, UIDAI, Aadhaar authentication, Central Identities Data Repository