AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 13497 - Elliot Alderson: Saying Aadhaar Is Un-Hackable Does Not Make It So

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

Thursday, May 10, 2018

13497 - Elliot Alderson: Saying Aadhaar Is Un-Hackable Does Not Make It So - Mid Day

Elliot Alderson: Saying Aadhaar Is Un-Hackable Does Not Make It So

May 09, 2018, 07:08 IST | Gaurav Sarkar

In another exclusive interview with mid-day, French ethical hacker Elliot Alderson talks about how things have changed since he revealed his identity and how flaws in the Aadhaar system have remained the same

Robert Baptiste

Elliot Alderson, the French ethical hacker who exposed flaws in the Aadhaar application has finally come out of the woodwork and revealed his true identity. He is Robert Baptiste, 28, a resident of Toulouse in France, who works as an app developer. Speaking to mid-day once again, Baptiste explains how simply stating the Aadhaar system cannot be hacked does not make it un-hackable and reveals how his efforts to reach out to Indian authorities regarding the flaws in the Aadhaar system have been in vain.

Baptiste revealed his identity a few weeks ago on Twitter, and even put up a photo of himself as the display picture for a brief time. He also appeared in an interview on a French news channel.

Nothing has changed
Has anything changed since? "Things have not really changed," said Baptiste, adding, "I declined all interviews after the appearance on French TV, and worked on non-India related topics. There are some people who recognize me at local conferences but abroad I'm mostly still anonymous." And how did people react to his picture?: "As far as I saw, reactions were quite good. People were curious to see a real picture of me."

Regarding his work on the flaws in the Aadhaar system, Baptiste maintains his stance about the system, with all its current loopholes, being as dangerous as ever. "In general, the issue is to make links in your digital life. By linking everything with everything, you will give a lot of information to the people who handle the data," he says.

But what about prominent UIDAI faces who have been claiming the system cannot be hacked? "There is no un-hackable system. End of story. Saying that Aadhaar is un-hackable does not make it un-hackable," says Baptiste, further pointing out, "Authorities are really playing a dangerous game. They need to fix the flaws exposed by whistleblowers as soon as possible."

Going on a more serious note, Baptiste states the 'state of security in the Indian cyberspace is quite bad.' "Every time I find something, I try to reach out to the concerned authorities. I contact them a lot, but they keep on declining," he says. While he continues to seek answers from the Indian government, he has been receiving a barrage of almost daily threats. But he's unperturbed, "I receive a lot of threats...I don't keep a count of them. In general, this is nothing serious, mostly just bored kiddos. It (the threats) does not affect me."

Half-marathon awaits
Baptiste is not all about exposes and ethical hacking. When he's not doing any of those, he is busy building apps and services, running and being with his family. "I try to be a good father and a good husband. I run a lot as well. Last year, I ran a marathon and I will run a half-marathon at the end of the month."