‘Trai chief’s data not obtained through Aadhaar’

TWITTER USERS SAID THEY HAD ACCESSED TRAI CHIEF’S PRIVATE DETAILS; HE SAID THEY DIDN’T GET THEM FROM HIS AADHAAR NUMBER

NEWDELHI: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said on Sunday Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chief RS Sharma’s personal details shared on Twitter were not accessed from the Aadhaar database, a day after users took on Sharma’s challenge to access his private information by using his 12-digit biometric ID.

On Saturday, Sharma shared his Aadhaar number on Twitter, challenging anyone to show him “one concrete example where you can do any harm to me”.

A French security researcher, who goes by the Twitter name of Elliot Anderson, later tweeted: “People managed to get your personal address, dob (date of birth) and your alternate phone number. I stop here, I hope you will understand why make your #Aadhaar number public is not a good idea.”

While other Twitter users, too, said they had accessed Sharma’s private details, he posted multiple tweets to say the challenge had never been about phone numbers and other information, but to cause harm using his Aadhaar number.

He added that those posting his details did not get them through his Aadhaar number.

In its statement on Sunday, the UIDAI said it “strongly dismissed the claims made by certain elements on Twitter and a section of media that they have fetched personal details of Shri Ram Sewak Sharma.”

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