AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 13096 - Aadhaar biometric information not breached: 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

Monday, March 26, 2018

13096 - Aadhaar biometric information not breached: UIDAI - TNN

Aadhaar biometric information not breached: UIDAI

TNN | Mar 25, 2018, 03:00 IST

HIGHLIGHTS

UIDAI dismissed the ZDNet claims as “baseless and irresponsible”, asserting that Aadhaar details “remain safe and secure”
The ZDNet report said that the API used by the utility to access the Aadhaar database isn’t secured
UIDAI statement said that Aadhaar number, “though a personal sensitive information”, is not a secret number

NEW DELHI: A report in American tech website ZDNet has claimed a breach in the firewall of an unnamed state-owned utility that uses Aadhaar for authenticating users of its services. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) dismissed the ZDNet claims as “baseless and irresponsible”, asserting that Aadhaar details “remain safe and secure”. “There is no truth in the story as there has been absolutely no breach of UIDAI’s Aadhar database,” it said.

The ZDNet report said that the API used by the utility to access the Aadhaar database isn’t secured. "It’s possible to retrieve private data on each Aadhaar holder, regardless of whether they’re a customer of the utility provider or not,” the report on ZDNet said. The report, however, adds that the breach does not allow access to biometric details (information shared with UIDAI at the time of applying for Aadhaar) of individuals.

UIDAI said that the story is “totally baseless, false and irresponsible,” adding that “even if the claim purported in the story were taken as true, it would raise security concerns on database of that utility company and has nothing to do with security of UIDAI’s Aadhaar’s database.” It said it is contemplating legal action. The ZDNet.com report said, “a data leak on a system run by a state-owned utility company can allow anyone to download private information on all Aadhaar holders, exposing their names, their unique 12-digit identity numbers, and information about services they are connected to, such as their bank details and other private information.”

TOP COMMENT

Aadhar do have practical problem that government should admit. Recently I tried to link my irctc with Aadhar. I got message that credentials are not tallying . Then I made necessary change in my irctc account like address . I got message from irctc that changes were successfully carried out . After few days I tried to link irctc with Aadhar . Same message from irctc that credentials are not matching. Biometric problem is another major issue govt should address before vigorously implement the case. I am sure that BJP is going to loose some vote from people affected due to Aadhar, cow vigilante ( of farmers having aged cow ) cases etc

achan kunju

It claims to be withholding the name of the utility over hacking concerns. “Yet the Indian authorities have done nothing to fix the flaw,” the report said, adding that they have been in touch with the Indian Consulate in New York as well as other officials for the past one month, but there has been no response. “… the affected system is still online and vulnerable. For that reason, we’re withholding specific details about the vulnerability until it’s fixed,” ZDNet claimed.

UIDAI statement said that Aadhaar number, “though a personal sensitive information”, is not a secret number. “Mere availability of Aadhaar number with a third person will not be a security threat to the Aadhaar holder or will not lead to financial/other fraud, as for any transaction, a successful authentication through fingerprint, Iris or OTP of the Aadhaar holder is required.” ZDNet claims, that data, on the face of it, “may not be seen as sensitive as leaked or exposed biometric data, but it nevertheless contradicts the Indian government’s claims that the database is secure.”