‘210 govt sites made Aadhaar info public’

NEWDELHI: More than 200 central and state government websites publicly displayed details such as names and addresses of some Aadhaar beneficiaries, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has said.

The Aadhaar issuing body, in response to an RTI query, said it took note of the breach and got the data removed from the websites but did not specify when the breach took place. It added that Aadhaar details had never been made public from/by UIDAI.

“However, it was found that approximately 210 websites of central government, state government departments, including educational institutes, were displaying the list of beneficiaries along with their name, address, other details and Aadhaar numbers for information of general public,” it said.

UIDAI issues Aadhaar — a 12-digit unique identification number — which acts as proof of identity and address anywhere in the country.

The Centre is in the process of making Aadhaar mandatory for people to avail benefits of various social service schemes.

“UIDAI has a well-designed, multi-layer approach robust security system in place and the same is being constantly upgraded to maintain the highest level of data security and integrity,” the Right To Information reply said.

The architecture of the Aadhaar ecosystem has been designed to ensure data security and privacy which is an integral part of the system from the initial design to the final stage, it said.

“Various policies and procedures have been defined. These are reviewed and updated continually thereby appropriately controlling and monitoring any movement of people, material and data in and out of UIDAI premises, particularly the data centres,” the UIDAI said.

THE AADHAAR ISSUING BODY, IN RESPONSE TO AN RTI QUERY, SAID IT TOOK NOTE OF THE BREACH AND GOT THE DATA REMOVED FROM THE WEBSITES