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UIDAI introduces 'Virtual ID' to address privacy concerns

  •   Wed, Jan 10 2018 06:14:01 PM

New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI): In a bid to address privacy concerns, the UIDAI today introduced a new concept of 'Virtual ID' which Aadhaar-card holder can generate from its website and give for various purposes, including SIM verification, instead of sharing the actual 12-digit biometric ID.

This will give the users the option of not sharing their Aadhaar number at the time of authentication.

The Virtual ID, which would be a random 16-digit number, together with biometrics of the user would give any authorised agency like a mobile company, limited details like name, address and photograph, which are enough for any verification.

Officials said a user can generate as many Virtual IDs as he or she wants. The older ID gets automatically cancelled once a fresh one is generated.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (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, say, a telco.

The Virtual ID will be a temporary and revocable 16 digit random number mapped to a person's Aadhaar number and the Aadhaar-issuing body will start accepting it from March 1, 2018.

From June 1, 2018 it will be compulsory for all agencies that undertake authentication to accept the Virtual ID from their users.

Agencies that do not migrate to the new system to offer this additional option to their users by the stipulated deadline will face financial disincentives.

"Aadhaar number holder can use Virtual ID in lieu of Aadhaar number whenever authentication or KYC services are performed. Authentication may be performed using the Virtual ID in a manner similar to using Aadhaar number," a UIDAI circular said.

The move aims to strengthen the privacy and security of Aadhaar data and comes amid heightened concerns around the collection and storage of personal and demographic data of individuals.

Users can go to the UIDAI website to generate their virtual ID which will be valid for a defined period of time, or till the user decides to change it.

They can give this Virtual ID to service agencies along with the fingerprint at the time of authentication. Since the system generated Virtual ID will be mapped to an individual's Aadhaar number itself at the back end, it will do away with the need for the user to share Aadhaar number for authentication.

It will also reduce the collection of Aadhaar numbers by various agencies.

As per the UIDAI, agencies that undertake authentication would not be allowed to generate the Virtual ID on behalf of Aadhaar holder.

The UIDAI is instructing all agencies using its authentication and eKYC services to ensure Aadhaar holders can provide the 16-digit Virtual ID instead of Aadhaar number within their application.

As many as 119 crore biometric identifiers have been issued so far and Aadhaar is required as an identity proof of residents by various government and non-government entities.

For instance, the government has made it mandatory for verifying bank account and PAN to weed out black money and bring unaccounted wealth to book. The same for SIM has been mandated to establish the identity of mobile phone users.
  

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Comment on this article

  • Honnappa, Byadagi

    Thu, Jan 11 2018

    This government is playing with lives of common people of Bharata Desha. They are messing up every thing. So many " U " turns . Still Union ( Central ) government is making aadhar compulsory for all government services. No foresight, vision, planning and lack of administrative experience. One day aadhar may bring this country to brink. God save us.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [2] Reply Report Abuse

  • ad, mangaluru

    Thu, Jan 11 2018

    Aadhaar,Nandan Nilkenis personal"Money Maker" (a billionaire now )project , all along, was a hackers paradise. A country like India where the little shopkeepers who process Aadhaar information is a gift for abuse of privacy and identity theft ,a fast growing industry all around the world and India is not spared.

    Supreme Court should have nipped Aadhaar in its bud. What a mistake . Now millions have opened themselves to identify abuse and Nilkeni has no clue as what he has done. He has exposed all Indians to privacy and identity theft . Now the patch work a band aid, not even a permanent solution, with so called virtual ID could be another disaster indeed.

    What has gone wrong with intellectuals of India, biometric information , is very personal and private and no nation or government should have the right to collect and use this information unless one is a criminal.

    Sad state of affairs, the poor , the uneducated and even the literate are the subjects of this madness of this Modi government and indeed of UPA.

    The Modi government brags that this project is one of its kind in the world, biggest data base of biometric data and indeed it is one of its kind where private information would be for sale and abuse.

    Wake up India, the citizenry, don't we have privacy rights to protect our own personal information?

    DisAgree Agree [3] Reply Report Abuse

  • SMR, Karkala

    Wed, Jan 10 2018

    In the past elections are held using 'ballot boxes' and votes are casted in the box counted in front of all party representatives. Though it is regiorus process there is still hope fair democracy.
    Now in 'Digital India' manufacturer Microchip Inc of India’s EVMs says its products can be hacked. That, as per the manufacturer’s deposition in the US Court of Law, sharing of machine code (object code) is akin to sharing source code of a computer programme. Gujarat’s Chief Electoral Officer, BB Swain, also admits that there was ‘100% match’ between the EVMs and the slips of VVPAT machines.
    In recently held Gujarat elections premises set by EC that 1 booth per constituency is representative sample. number of booths = 50128. questionable booths = 4*50128/182 = 1102 EC accepted that there were 4 mismatch. 1102 possible mismatched booth in 182 constituency. so approximately 6 mismatched booth per constituency. One EVM can store around 3800 votes. assuming on average EVM were half filled, so total number of questionable votes per seat = 11400 ”
    “In general, the average victory margin in state assembly is 5000-6000 votes. In conclusion, the entire result can change within the error margin of EVM system. This has nothing to do with hacking. this was simple calculation for variability from election commission data. EC must tell what were the votes in EVM and VVPAT. and how did EC conclude that the mismatch was because of old data? EVM do not record time, as far as I know.”
    It is impossible to get a paper receipt of any electronic transaction which varies from the software programmed. Small discrepancies, howsoever small, is indicative of what came to be known in the West as “SALAMI FRAUD” existing within the software.
    Salami Fraud was all about stealing small pennies from millions of accounts that became the most favourite and fraudulent method to siphon off millions of dollars without the account holders noticing the fraud.
    If VVPAT not counted in public ECI can be trusted?
    JH

    DisAgree [2] Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • Ashwin, MANGALORE

    Wed, Jan 10 2018

    The entire Adhaar game was to just fill the pockets of Nandan Nilekani and the Ambanis.
    It was a move to push Jio sales and nothing else.
    When a company like Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited got a go ahead from the Govt to collect the KYC from the the customers, All the Airtels of the world Jumped in, Later Paytm payments banks jumped in.. The security breach some or the other day had to happen.

    With all the Biometrics with the Govt it could atleast utilize it to Nab culprits who leave the finger prints behind. Instead they give all that power to some private telecoms and banks..

    Totally Disgusting!!

    DisAgree Agree [7] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jenifer, Mangalore

    Wed, Jan 10 2018

    "As per the UIDAI, agencies that undertake authentication would not be allowed to generate the Virtual ID on behalf of Aadhaar holder"

    Meaning, a person who is qualified enough to use a computer can generate this 16 digit information. What would a farmer or a petty vendor do ? Certainly Adhaar card ? Hope the 'U-turn government' will someday not totally discontinue use of Adhaar after so much of drama.

    DisAgree [1] Agree [9] Reply Report Abuse

  • James Andrade, Padubidri

    Wed, Jan 10 2018

    Good. But a bit too late.

    DisAgree [4] Agree [2] Reply Report Abuse

  • mahesh, Mangalore

    Wed, Jan 10 2018

    Good move

    DisAgree [7] Agree Reply Report Abuse


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