8 out of 10 people concerned about Aadhaar data privacy: Study - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

8 out of 10 people concerned about Aadhaar data privacy: Study.

8 out of 10 people are concerned about their Aadhaar data security and feel that the government should intervene for online data protection, a Velocity MR survey showed.

Following the Facebook data scandal perpetrated by Cambridge Analytica, 80% Indians are concerned about their Aadhaar data privacy, a study by market research and analysis company Velocity MR.
The Velocity MR study, in which 5,800 respondents participated, shows 8 out of 10 people are concerned about their Aadhaar data security and feel that the government should intervene for online data protection.
“Every netizen is leaving a trail of digital footprints with everything that they click online. From personal information, to financial data, to biometric details, all this data is accessible in some form or the other on various foreign servers that one cannot fathom,” Velocity MR CEO Jasal Shah said.
“With the new European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regime coming into play, it is a wake-up call for internet companies to tighten their security policies with immediate effect,” he added.
Europe has introduced the GDPR regime that all tech companies have to adhere to. The Facebook data scandal has created awareness like never before on issues around data privacy, user rights and consent policies, nudging tech companies to review and strengthen their data protection rules.
According to Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairperson J. Satyanarayana, more than 121 crore Indians have been enrolled for Aadhaar and it has been used for over 19 billion authentications so far.
The Velocity MR study, which covered Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Pune, also noted that 4 in every 10 respondents said their opinion about Facebook has gone down in recent months.
One in three respondents said that they would share lesser on Facebook, even though they will continue to be on Facebook, the study said.
Moreover, even though people believe that social media sites are not completely safe for financial transactions, they have not completely stopped using it either. The higher age group of 46-60 years is more willing to continue using Facebook as before, the study noted. (Source: Livemint)

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8 out of 10 people concerned about Aadhaar data privacy: Study.

India should ensure privacy and security controls while implementing Aadhaar: IMF report - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India should ensure privacy and security controls while implementing Aadhaar: IMF report.

The International Monetary Fund said that lack of sufficient security features makes the system vulnerable to unauthorised access.

The International Monetary Fund has said that India should ensure privacy and security controls while implementing biometric identification programmes like the Aadhaar.

In its Fiscal Monitor report on digital government, the organisation said that India’s biometric identification programme and electronic payments had helped reduce leakages in Liquefied Petroleum Gas subsidies. “With more than 1.2 billion registered citizens in India’s biometric identification system, Aadhaar, the country stands out as a leader in this area,” the report said.
However, the report expressed concerns about the alleged leakage of Aadhaar data. “In a recent data breach in India, it has been reported that 135 million Aadhaar numbers were compromised, underscoring the importance of sound privacy measures,” the IMF said.
“In India, privacy and security concerns have led to alternating periods of mandatory and non-mandatory use of Aadhaar in social programmes,” the report said. “A court decision is still pending on the programme’s compliance with the right to privacy.”
“Advocates of the system assert that Aadhaar is compatible with the right to privacy because the captured biometric traits are encrypted,” the IMF added. “However, the lack of sufficient security controls makes the system vulnerable to unauthorised access.”
The IMF report said that the cost of Aadhaar implementation and maintenance between 2009 and 2017 was $1.25 (Rs 81) per card. However, it added that this was lower than the cost of electronic identification systems in other countries.
The report added that the government may find it difficult to phase out Aadhaar in future given its broad coverage, notwithstanding the Supreme Court verdict in the case.


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India should ensure privacy and security controls while implementing Aadhaar: IMF report.

UIDAI launches 'Virtual ID' to address privacy concerns related to Aadhaar - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

UIDAI launches 'Virtual ID' to address privacy concerns related to Aadhaar.

HIGHLIGHTS
• The new feature will allow Aadhaar holders to quote their Virtual ID (VID) number without actually disclosing the 12-digit Aadhaar number for authentication or verification purposes.
• According to UIDAI in the beta form, users can generate their Virtual ID and use it to update address in Aadhaar online for the time being.

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has launched the much-awaited 'Virtual ID' which will be a random 16-digit number mapped to a person's Aadhaar number.
The concept of Virtual ID was announced earlier this year to address privacy concerns. The new feature will allow Aadhaar holders to quote their Virtual ID (VID) number without actually disclosing the 12-digit Aadhaar number for authentication or verification purposes.
UIDAI had stated that it will be compulsory for all agencies that undertake authentication to accept the VID from their users from June 1, 2018. According to UIDAI in the beta form, users can generate their Virtual ID and use it to update address in Aadhaar online for the time being.
"...Soon, service providers will start accepting VID in place of Aadhaar number. For now, you can use this for online address update in your Aadhaar," the UIDAI said in a tweet. The tweet urges the users to generate their VIDs and gives a link of the Aadhaar website for the same. The VID would give any authorised agency details like name, address and photograph, which are enough for any verification.(Source: The Times of India)


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UIDAI launches 'Virtual ID' to address privacy concerns related to Aadhaar.