Yesterday the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) denied there was any breach of the Aadhaar Database after The Tribune released a report of hacking into the Aadhaar database in 10 minutes. But American whistleblower Edward Snowden on Friday stated the Aadhaar database introduced by the Indian Government was flawed and could be easily misused and abused.
Snowden retweeted CBS Journalist Zack Whittaker’s response on the Buzzfeed report about the Aadhaar database breach in India and said, “It is the natural tendency of government to desire perfect records of private lives. History shows that no matter the laws, the result is abuse.”
Whittaker was quoted saying, “ICYMI. India has a national ID database with the private information of nearly 1.2 billion nationals. It’s reportedly been breached. Admin accounts can be made and access can be sold to the database, reports BuzzFeed.”
On Thursday, the UIDAI stated the Aadhaar data that includes biometric information is fully safe and secure. The UIDAI went on to term The Tribune’s report titled ‘Rs. 500, 10 minutes, and you have access to billion Aadhaar details’ as a case of misreporting.
In a statement, the Unique Identification Authority of India said, “There has not been any Aadhaar data breach. The Aadhaar data including biometric information is fully safe and secure.”
This development has emerged at a time when the Supreme Court will begin its final hearing on petitions challenging the legality of the Aadhaar programme. These petitions are based on privacy concerns and the hearing will be conducted on the 17th of January. A five judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will hear the petitions. In August 2017, the Apex Court stated that privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
This is a major blow to the Centre as it pushed for Aadhaar to become a compulsory identification for all citizens of India.
