UIDAI steps up security around Aadhaar, introduces virtual ID, limited KYC

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Wednesday introduced a two-layer security system to step up the security around Aadhaar numbers. This development comes days after a media report claimed a security breach in the Aadhaar database.

The new steps to improve privacy was tweeted out by ET Now. They include virtual identification and ‘limited KYC’.

The virtual ID is expected to come into play instead of the Aadhaar number at the time of authentication. A randomly-generated 16-digit number will be used for authentication instead of Aadhaar numbers, the ET report revealed.

In the ‘limited KYC’ or know your customer feature, will provide agency specific UID to eliminated agencies storing Aadhaar numbers.

However, the report further added that all agencies would migrate to the new systems by June 1.

A report by the Tribune said that anyone could purchase a service being offered by anonymous sellers over WhatsApp that provided unrestricted access to details for any of the more than 1 billion Aadhaar numbers created in India thus far.

The report added that all of this information was available for the bargain price of Rs 500.

UIDAI, however, denied its claim stating it was a ‘case of misreporting’. It further assured that there was ‘no biometric data breach’.

In another attempt to ramp up security, a report by ET stated that nearly 5,000 designated officials had restricted access to the Aadhaar portal.

There have been multiple allegations in the past of data security breaches in the programme.

Nearly 34,000 Aadhaar operators have already been cancelled and blacklisted, a government statement in the Rajya Sabha revealed in April 2017.