13816 - Google Takes the Blame for UIDAI Number Showing Up in People's Phonebooks - NDTV

Google Takes the Blame for UIDAI Number Showing Up in People's Phonebooks

Jagmeet Singh, 03 August 2018

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Google has confirmed that there was a software issue that brought the now decomissioned UIDAI number.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Google has confirmed its role in the UIDAI controversy
• The issue emerged through the Android setup wizard in 2014
• Google has assured its fix in the next few weeks

Google has finally put the controversy of UIDAI contact showing up seemingly randomly in people's phones at rest and confirmed that the issue didn't result from any directive by any authority in India but due to a software issue in Android. The controversy under which UIDAI's now-decommissioned toll-free number was spotted by many mobile phone users in the country can be traced back to 2014, Google said, when the then UIDAI number and the 112 distress helpline number were "inadvertently coded" within the Android setup wizard and has remained on devices, the company confirmed to Gadgets 360 via an emailed statement late on Friday.

"Our internal review has revealed that in 2014, the then UIDAI helpline number and the 112 distress helpline number were inadvertently coded into the SetUp wizard of the Android release given to OEMs for use in India and has remained there since," a Google spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Gadgets 360. "Since the numbers get listed on a user's contact list, these get transferred accordingly to the contacts on any new device. We are sorry for any concern that this might have caused, and would like to assure everyone that this is not a situation of any unauthorised access of their Android devices. Users can manually delete the number from their devices."

The spokesperson also confirmed that the issue is set to be fixed in an upcoming release of the setup wizard that will be provided to OEMs over the next few weeks.

If you are wondering how iPhone users reported the number showing up in their contacts, it's likely down to the fact that they synced their contacts with a Gmail account that already had the said contact added to its list after being used on an impacted Android device.

The controversy arose after a large number of mobile phone users on social media reported the sudden placement of a contact featuring the old helpline number of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). UIDAI refuted media reports in a series of tweets earlier on Friday and highlighted that the helpline number spotted by the users, which was 18003001947, was no longer a valid toll-free number, and it was changed to 1947 two years ago. "UIDAI has reiterated that it has not asked or advised anyone including any telecom service providers or mobile manufacturers or Android to include 18003001947 or 1947 in the default list of public service numbers," the authority behind Aadhaar had said.

It was initially speculated that the helpline number was pushed from the telcos. However, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) denied any role in the matter by its associated telcos while responding to an emailed query. "The inclusion of a certain unknown number in the phonebooks of various mobile handsets is not from any telecom service provider," COAI had said.

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Further reading: Google, UIDAI

13315 - Google, Facebook, Twitter can't be compared with Aadhaar, clarifies UIDAI - Times of India

Google, Facebook, Twitter can't be compared with Aadhaar, clarifies UIDAI

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Apr 18, 2018, 22:35 IST

HIGHLIGHTS

• The nature of information and the algorithms being used by global companies like Google and Aadhaar is different, UIDAI counsel Rakesh Dwivedi told the SC
• Unlike Google, UIDAI does not plan on using data analytics and learning tools to analyse Aadhaar data, Dwivedi had said

NEW DELHI: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has clarified that media reports quoting UIDAI’s Counsel Rakesh Dwivedi’s argument yesterday in the Supreme Court that Google is trying to fail Aadhaar are inaccurate. 

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi had submitted before a CJI-headed Constitution bench that as far as Google, Facebook and Twitter are concerned, they cannot be compared with Aadhaar due to the nature of information being different and also due to difference in the nature of algorithms being used. While Aadhaar is only matching biometrics, the other global companies are using learning tools for analysis of data, which creates knowledge. 

Further, UIDAI is prohibited under the law to do any such data analysis and therefore cannot conduct surveillance of any kind. He further said that UIDAI does not permit any Requesting Entity (RE) to collect and analyse Aadhaar data and use the same for any commercial purposes. 

10516 - Microsoft willing to extend Skype for Aadhaar authentication - Biometric Update

Microsoft willing to extend Skype for Aadhaar authentication

By Rawlson King

October 3, 2016 - 

Microsoft has presented various “case scenarios” to the Indian government on how Skype can be used for identity authentication using Aadhaar.

Aadhaar is the 12-digit unique identification number issued by the Indian government to every individual resident of India. The Aadhaar project aims to provide a single, unique identifier which captures all the demographic and biometric details of every Indian resident. Currently, Aadhaar has issued over 900 million Aadhaar numbers, and has enrolled approximately 850 million people, with a goal of ultimately enrolling 1.28 billion people.

The program, governed by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), is currently used to authenticate delivery of social services including: school attendance, natural gas subsidies to India’s rural poor, and direct wage payments to bank accounts. The system also provides identification to people who do not have birth certificates.

According to several published reports, UIDAI is in talks with Microsoft for embedding the identification technology onto its mobile devices. Earlier this month, BiometricUpdate.com reported that Indian government officials invited executives from Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google to discuss the integration of Aadhaar with their various mobile technologies.

While Apple offered a negative response concerning mobile integration, reports have noted that Microsoft is willing to partner with the Indian government on Aadhaar and other identity authentication projects.

Microsoft India Chairman Bhaskar Pramanik told media sources: “We have presented various case scenarios on how Skype can be used. We already support iris authentication on Windows 10. Now it depends on them how they want to proceed.”

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According to reports, the global software giant has already partnered with the Andhra Pradesh state government in testing a pilot project designed to reduce high school dropout rates. 

Using data analytics, the solution predicts how many students will drop out of school, helping teachers make better decisions to curb the problem. Microsoft notes it will extend the program to Punjab and is also discussion with other states to extend it elsewhere through India.

Microsoft is also reported to have established another pilot project that assists farmers to obtain SMS notifications on when is the best time to sow seeds, so that they can obtain the best yield.

By taking the position to work with the central and state governments, Microsoft is positioning itself to participate in the estimated, multi-billion dollar Aadhaar third-party marketplace.

9384 - Tech giants unwilling to link biometrics to Aadhaar - Biometric Update

Tech giants unwilling to link biometrics to Aadhaar

By Rawlson King

February 22, 2016 - 

Officials in the Indian government claim that Apple, Microsoft and Google are not making their proprietary biometric systems available to be used for Aadhaar authentication. The officials claim that these companies are acting as “gatekeepers” and are averse to allowing open access to their smartphone software development frameworks to leverage biometric functionality.

Aadhaar, recognized as the world’s largest universal civil ID program and biometric database, is currently used by the Indian government to provide social services. To date, Aadhaar has issued over 900 million Aadhaar numbers, and has enrolled approximately 850 million people, with a goal of ultimately enrolling 1.28 billion people.

With wider enrollment, government officials predict that Aadhaar will become a platform for financial transactions since the Indian government has proposed use of Aadhaar to issue bank accounts to all Indian households.

The government has also committed to expand the use of Aadhaar for social services, implementation of a universal healthcare scheme, along with enhanced monitoring of government employee attendance and truancy. The government has also proposed using Aadhaar for private sector employment ID validation, along with national security and crime-related surveillance applications.

Unnamed government officials told the Indian Express that they are dissatisfied with stance of the tech companies because while not everyone has a credit card, nearly everyone in India has a mobile phone that can enable financial transactions.

“The mobile number that you have for the phone is ‘what you have’. A phone is one factor of authentication. There are ways to confirm that this mobile number is yours, for instance through mechanisms such as “one time password”. The second factor of authentication is the biometric, which can be an iris scan or a fingerprint. India’s Aadhaar is unique in the world, and can make the mobile instrument provide a two-factor authentication for online transactions,” an official said.

A problem emerges, however, if smartphone developers are uncooperative and do not allow their software frameworks to interact with other authentication systems such as Aadhaar. An uncooperative stance means that software developers must seek alternative middleware alternatives to link Aadhaar to existing and ubiquitous phone platforms including Apple iOS and Google Android.

9379 - User Authentication: Tech majors spurn move to link Aadhaar with biometrics - Indian Express

User Authentication: Tech majors spurn move to link Aadhaar with biometrics

Step can potentially replace multi-factor authentication for secure transactions.

Written by Anil Sasi , P Vaidyanathan Iyer | New Delhi | Published:February 19, 2016 1:53 am

Global technology companies such as Apple, Google and Microsoft have so far fobbed an attempt by the Government of India to let their proprietary software allow matching of a user’s fingerprint or iris scan as captured in the mobile instrument with his or her biometrics as stored in the Aadhaar database.

If allowed, this will let a smartphone user to electronically undertake myriad financial transactions. The biometrics on the phone can potentially replace multi-factor authentication for credit cards and other such secure transactions by offering two-factor authentication at the click of a button.

According to senior government officials, companies such as Apple, Google and Microsoft are acting as “gatekeepers” and are averse to allowing open API (application programme interface) that facilitates programmatic access to a proprietary software application.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/business/business-others/user-authentication-tech-majors-spurn-move-to-link-aadhaar-with-biometrics/#sthash.9YT2hMjT.dpuf

6040 - Google filing says Gmail users have no expectation of privacy

Google filing says Gmail users have no expectation of privacy

In motion to dismiss a data-mining lawsuit, Web giant says people have "no legitimate expectation of privacy in information" voluntarily turned over to third parties.

• by Steven Musil
  @stevenmusil
• August 13, 2013 7:57 PM PDT
• 
  

James Martin/CNET

As if Edward Snowden hasn't done enough to highlight how vulnerable electronic communications are to surveillance, Google has made it clear that people who send or receive e-mail via Gmail should not expect their messages to remain private.

In a 39-page motion filed in June (see below) to have a class-action data-mining lawsuit dismissed, the Web giant cites Smith v. Maryland, a 1979 Supreme Court decision that upheld the collection of electronic communications without a warrant.

"Just as a sender of a letter to a business colleague cannot be surprised that the recipient's assistant opens the letter, people who use web-based email today cannot be surprised if their emails are processed by the recipient's [e-mail provider] in the course of delivery. Indeed, 'a person has no legitimate expectation of privacy in information he voluntarily turns over to third parties.'"

Plaintiffs in the case contend that Google's automated scanning of e-mail represents an illegal interception of their electronic communications without their consent. However, Google, which uses automated scanning to filter spam and deliver targeted advertising to its users, noted that plaintiffs consented to the practice in exchange for the e-mail services. Google goes on to say that courts have held that all e-mail users "necessarily give implied consent to the automated processing of their emails."

Public interest group Consumer Watchdog called the statement a "stunning admission" and warned people who cared about their privacy not to use Google's e-mail service.