Is our personal Aadhaar information in safe hands?

Is Aadhaar really safe? Should I link my bank details and my personal number to Aadhaar? These are some the questions that people keep asking despite UIDAI asserting last November that “Aadhaar data is fully safe and secure and there has been no data leak or breach at UIDAI.”

But you will be surprised to learn that there are several rackets going on that can help in getting unrestricted access to details for any of the more than 1 billion Aadhaar numbers created in India thus far. And it just takes Rs 500 paid through Paytm and 10 minutes to do that. On further investigation by a 3rd party agency it has been revealed that an “agent” of the group running the racket created a “gateway” and gives gave a login ID and password. One can enter any Aadhaar number in the portal, and instantly get all particulars that an individual may have submitted to the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), including name, address, postal code (PIN), photo, phone number and email.

This is not it. On paying another Rs 300, the agent could also provide the ‘software’ that could facilitate the printing of Aadhaar Card after entering the Aadhaa....Read More