Virtual ID futile exercise, like locking stable after horses have bolted : P Chidambaram
New Delhi, Jan 11 (IBNS) : Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said the UIDAI move to introduce virtual IDs to secure Aadhaar data is as futile as locking the stable after horses have fled away.
Questioning the efficacy of the measure, announced by UIDAI on Wednesday, the Congress leader pointed out that many people have already shared their Aadhaar numbers with Government agencies, banks as well as mobile service providers.
In a tweet, he said : “Under compulsion, millions of persons have already shared Aadhaar number with many service providers. New security layer is like locking the stable after horses have bolted.”
Earlier this month, a report in The Tribune alleged Aadhaar data can be accessed through WhatsApp for a fee. Following the report, the UIDAI said there was no breach of sensitive data such as one’s biometrics, but it went ahead and filed a case against the news organisation as well as the agency that provided the information to the journalist for a fee.
On Wednesday, UIDAI announced introduction of another layer of protection from March-end in a bid to ensure citizens that their data will be secure.
The Virtual ID is a 16-digit randomly-generated temporary number that people would be able to share instead of Aadhaar.
The new system is aimed at minimising instances of leak and misuse of Aadhaar numbers and enhancing privacy of the 119 crore people issued the identification number.
The move came amid a hue and cry over a newspaper expose on unauthorised access of the UIDAI database earlier this month.
It will be compulsory for all agencies that undertake authentication to accept the Virtual ID from their users from 1 June 2018.
The UIDAI, has also introduced the concept of 'limited KYC' under which it will only provide need-based or limited details of a user to an authorised agency that is providing a particular service.
The virtual ID for an Aadhaar holder can be used in lieu of one's Aadhaar number to avoid the need for sharing it at the time of authentication.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
