Centre introduces new virtual ID to address Aadhaar privacy concerns

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Wednesday put in place a twolayer security mechanism to reinforce privacy protection for Aadhaar ID number holders. It introduced a virtual identification for the ID holders so that the actual Aadhaar number need not be shared to authenticate identity. It also placed more restrictions on the storage of the Aadhaar number within various databases.

The idea behind the changes is to address privacy concerns that have resulted in a legal challenge to Aadhaar in the Supreme Court, and also to prevent potential misuse of an individual’s Aadhaar details.

UIDAI has been under the scanner over the past few months over allegations of access of personal information by random entities without the consent of individual Aadhaar holders.

The virtual ID will be a 16-digit random number mapped with the Aadhaar number. It can only be generated, replaced or revoked by the Aadhaar number holder from time to time.

“It will not be possible to derive the Aadhaar number from the virtual ID,” said a UIDAI circular.

Till now, a person had to give his or her 12-digit identity number along with other attributes (demographic and/or biometrics and/or through a one-time password) during authentication or e-KYC (know your customer) for accessing various benefits and services from service providers such as banks or telcos.

UIDAI also introduced the concept of a limited KYC category that does not access the Aadhaar number.