AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 13022 - Privacy of Aadhar at stake after another data leak

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

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

13022 - Privacy of Aadhar at stake after another data leak - All India Round up

Privacy of Aadhar at stake after another data leak

MARCH 17, 2018 BY AMER AHMED

The news taking the media by storm for a second alarming revelation that questions the credibility of privacy which was guranteed while taking Aadhaar data. Many were astouned to find the scale of exposure for such a privacy data.

A simple search on Google search engine can reveal all the details of several individuals related to Aadhaar. We have no clue for such a risk whether how and why all the credentials of a person is being put on stake. The search can reveal all the details like name, address, Aadhaar number, date of birth and photos of a particular individual. Any person with wrong intentions can use this data which is easily available over the internet. But something is to cheer about, yes, the reason for this is that the biometric details are not available over the internet.

The small list of online websites that have uploaded Aadhaar details of individuals include:

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (www.incois.gov.in) – Official Government Website

All India Football Federation (www.the-aiff.com) – Official Government Website

Starcards India (http://starcardsindia.com), a service provider of payment gateway service, mobile app development and mobile app design based in Hyderabad – A Private Company Website.

Way to accessing Aadhaar details:

Here’s the guide to easily find find the Aadhaar details of unknown people.

Step 1: Search on Google “mera aadhaar meri pehchan filetype:pdf”
Step 2: Go through any of the multiple PDF files that show up on the search
Step 3: Download PDF
Step 4: All the details of Aadhaar of random strangers are now available to be used.

The details of Aadhaar that you will be able to access are as follows:

Name
Aadhaar number
Parent’s name
Address
Date of birth
Photograph

This revealation raises some Questions:

Here are some of the questions as listed below which arise due to the revelation:

What is main purpose for publishing all the details of Aadhaar of several individuals, which can be accessed by any type of person, organisation, from anywhere in the World?

Were those who uploaded the detail aware of their misdoing, such that they were putting at risk the data of their own too?

Is not this a case of infringement of the person’s privacy guranteed under the Indian Constitution?

And in case if the officials incharge are not aware about the details being available online publicly, then the following questions need to be answered:

What was the driving concern for them to upload Aadhaar details of these individuals? What was the end result they wanted as an outcome after uploading these PDFs online?

If it was done without any intention for a government website (www.incois.gov.in), is there no awareness in the government agencies to protect public’s confidential data with Aadhaar details?

Who should be held as culprit in the whole game of data divulgence and leak?