India’s national cyber security agency has cautioned internet users about lurking data thieves and advised them against sharing details such as their vote preferences and Aadhaar details over social media platforms and mobile applications. As the debate over Facebook data breach disclosure intensifies, the Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In) has issued an advisory asking Facebook and all other social media users to “not share their personally identifiable information […]

The UIDAI on Saturday asked people to take “due precautions” while sharing their personal information such as Aadhaar on the internet for availing any service. Playing down reports of Aadhaar pdf being allegedly available through Google search query of Mera Aadhaar, Meri Pehchan, UIDAI claimed that the issue had “nothing to do with the security of Aadhaar and its database”. “People share their personal information, including Aadhaar on internet, to […]

Let me start with full disclosure: the Nilekanis were among the earliest donors of the institution of which I am a co-founder. The proposals in this article are entirely my own and they have neither sought nor had any influence in the writing of it. Much of the ongoing national heartburn over Aadhaar is due to the profound change in “the use case” between that of the UPA government which […]

INTRODUCING ONE of the most significant changes since its inception, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has added another layer of protection on the use of Aadhaar as proof of identity. The UIDAI said Wednesday that it has introduced Virtual IDs (VID) that Aadhaar holders will be able to generate for a temporary period and can use in place of Aadhaar numbers to validate their identity. This temporary number, […]

A report in The Tribune on Thursday revealed that access to any Aadhaar holder’s details could be gained, through a mere payment of Rs 500, via an anonymous service on Whatsapp. As per the report, the payment allowed the person to be designated as an ‘agent’, which in turn granted him access to the grievance redressal system. Entering an Aadhaar number into the system revealed the holder’s information, including name, […]

“My fingerprints and iris are mine and my own. The state cannot take away my body,” a lawyer told India’s Supreme Court last week. Shyam Divan was arguing a crucial petition challenging a new law that makes it compulsory for people to submit a controversial biometric-based personal identification number while filing income tax returns. Defending this law, the government’s top law officer told the court on Tuesday that an individual’s […]