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

Saturday, March 17, 2018

12986 - Aadhaar: French security expert allegedly hacks into Aadhaar app in a minute

The security expert said that his motive behind exposing the loopholes is to point the flaws to companies and help fix it.
  • Staff Published: March 14, 2018 5:05 PM IST

French security expert, Elliot Alderson, who created furore over allegedly hacking into Aadhaar database of over twenty thousand users on a single day using a simple internet search tool is again hit the news. This time, he hacked into the Aadhaar Android app in a minute.

Alderson posted a video from his Twitter account highlighting the extreme vulnerability of the Aadhaar app and how it is possible to gain access to the app even without a rooted device.


How to bypass the password protection of the official #Aadhaar #android #app in 1 minute.
For this attack, the attacker need a physical access to the phone, rooted phone is not needed and yes this is the latest version of the app.
cc @uidai @ceo_uidai

If one takes a look at the alleged hacker’s timeline, it is filled with multiple discoveries of loopholes in not only Aadhaar but other prominent businesses including BSNL, Paytm, and the Indian Postal Service. In his latest tweet, Alderson highlights the vulnerability in the website of Apollo Hospitals which potentially exposes patient data.
India Today spoke to the hacker and discovered that the name Elliot Alderson is, in fact, an alias used for social media and the real name is Baptiste Robert. The hacker identifies himself as a freelance Android developer who works for phone makers.
On discovering vulnerabilities in Aadhaar cards in a single day, Alderson told the publication, “These cards can be found on the internet. Everything is public, no hack is required. You only need to use Google. These cards have not been found on the UIDAI server.”

Also Read

He further said that it is possible to misuse the Aadhaar by accessing its Android app. Alderson explained that the main flaw with the Aadhaar Android app is that if an attacker has access to the device containing the app, it is possible to easily bypass the password mechanism and access data.
Meanwhile, the UIDAI issued a statement that by simply knowing someone’s Aadhaar, one can not impersonate and harm the person as the identification number alone is not sufficient and biometrics are the pre-requisite for such authentication processes. To this, Alderson said that UIDAI’s earlier statement of Aadhaar card being an identity document is inconsistent with the newer statement.
Alderson goes on to caution citizens against using the Aadhaar Android app saing it is complicated and one needs to be cautious when giving the Aadhaar card to anyone.

Also Read

It is unusual for someone like Alderson who does not seem to be an Indian citizen to take key interest in businesses and government projects happening here. However, Alderson is quoted as saying that he simply wants to point flaws and help companies fix it.”I’m not motivated by the money at all. Security is important. As a company, it is your duty to protect your user data,” he is quoted as saying.



UIDAI has dismissed the reports as irresponsible which appeared in a section of social and other media on security of Aadhaar system being questioned on account of a few Aadhaar cards reportedly put on the internet by some unscrupulous elements. 1/n

In a long threaded response to these reports, UIDAI has maintained that Aadhaar data is completely safe and no misuse of any kind has happened. In one of the tweets, UIDAI stressed, “Aadhaar just like any other identity document, therefore, is never to be treated as a confidential document.”

The report follows the Supreme Court announcement on the indefinite extension of the last date for linking Aadhaar to bank accounts, PAN cards, SIM cards, etc from March 31, 2018. However, for those availing services such as opening new bank accounts and applying for Tatkal passports, Aadhaar is still a mandate.