AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 12715 - View: Keep Aadhaar baby, throw away the bathwater

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

Friday, January 12, 2018

12715 - View: Keep Aadhaar baby, throw away the bathwater - Economic Times

View: Keep Aadhaar baby, throw away the bathwater

ET CONTRIBUTORS|

Updated: Jan 12, 2018, 07.33 AM IST

he Aadhaar (Data Security) Regulations 2016 clearly lays down the security measures of data collected by the UIDAI for the overall ecosystem..

By Subimal Bhatt

In matters of cyberspace, it is usually about maintaining a balance between privacy and security. But in a unique departure, both privacy and security are perceived to be at stake with Aadhaar. The issue of a breach in the Aadhaar database has once again — and, this time, most seriously — been raised after the publication of a news report in The Tribune.

This fear needs to be not only doused, but the sources of this legitimate fear also eradicated. With more than 1.19 billion enrolments to date, and having a wide impact in cleansing the direct benefit transfer ecosystem across various welfare schemes, Aadhaar has to stay. Where the problem and the solution lies is in making it secure for individual privacy as well as security.

The Aadhaar ecosystem broadly consists of biometric, identity and personal usage information. Biometric information comprises fingerprints, iris scans and photos that are well protected in the Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) that is maintained by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

ID information comprising an individual's 12-digit Aadhaar number and other demographic parameters, along with biometric information, are also secured. Even profiling based on personal usage of services and its authentication with Aadhaar are illegal. Much before the Aadhaar Act 2016 came into force in March 2016, the UIDAI was a 'protected system' defined under Section 70 of the IT Act, 2008. This entails the CIDR and its facilities, information assets and logistics infrastructure being restricted to authorised personnel only.

Reasonable security practices are in place and certified by Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) with ISO 270001 standards. Till date, no breach has been reported on the CIDR. So, biometric and ID information are protected.

The Aadhaar number, along with the Aadhaar-holder's name, qualifies as sensitive personal data, and not just a 'secret number' like a bank account or mobile phone number. Breaches can be addressed under the aforementioned Section 70 — as well as Section 43, which deals with sensitive personal data — of the IT Act.

In terms of personal usage data, reasonable steps can be taken as per industry best standards and under tight legal coverage.

While cyber attacks and data brea-ches have indeed taken place globally, they shouldn't automatically lead to panic. It is prudent for GoI to seriously consider best security measures. This means monitoring networks under managed security premises, and constantly upgrading solutions and practices.

Audits are regularly conducted on network integrity. Processes, as per well-defined norms, should be set in place with any variation addressed. The security of Aadhaar data is monitored at all times — during rest, transit and storage — and security measures have been factored into the design and Chapter 6 of the Aadhaar Act 2016.

The Aadhaar (Data Security) Regulations 2016 clearly lays down the security measures of data collected by the UIDAI for the overall ecosystem. But improvements and enhancements are key in network-based ecosystems.

Technology demands changes that make the system more secure as well as protect privacy. Thus, the new measures announced by the UIDAI on Wednesday after the earlier Tribune expose.

Atwo-layered safety net will be implemented from March 1, by which a 'virtual ID' (VID) will end the need to share one's Aadhaar number at the time of authentication. Also, a 'limited KYC (know your customer)' service will eliminate the possibility of agencies storing Aadhaar numbers.

AVID will be a randomly generated 16-digit number available over all platforms. Along with biometrics, it will give the right authentication without providing other ID details including the Aadhaar number.

Also, limiting of storage of Aadhaar numbers by authentication-user agencies (AUA) — by categorising them as 'global AUAs' (with access to one's Aadhaar number) and 'local AUAs' (with access to only a 'unique ID token' and not the Aadhaar number) — reduces risks.

Along with the electronic voting machine (EVM), Aadhaar is cleansing the Indian governance delivery ecosystem. To have it privacy- and security-proof, enough to have people trust it and value its virtues, is a duty that GoI must not shirk from.

The writer is a consultant on cyber security and technology policy