Personal details of TRAI chief RS Sharma were allegedly leaked on Saturday after he threw a challenge on Twitter to prove to him how his Aadhaar number could be misused. The head of Indian telecom watchdog posted his 12-digit Aadhaar number on the microblogging site, asking for everyone to prove how mere knowledge of the biometric identification number can be used to harm him.
Along with his full Aadhaar number, Sharma tweeted, "Now I give this challenge to you: Show me one concrete example where you can do any harm to me!"
A French security expert by the name of Elliot Alderson responded to Sharma's challenge within hours. In a series of tweets, he posted what allegedly is the mobile number and e-mail address linked to the Aadhaar number mentioned by Sharma.
Alderson, who had pointed out loopholes in Aadhaar security earlier this year in March, went on to post details like Sharma's date of birth, personal address, alternate phone number and PAN details, with the key areas blacked out. He even posted a picture of Sharma with a portion blackened, which he claimed to be the WhatsApp profile picture of the TRAI chief.
"People managed to get your personal address, dob and your alternate phone number. I stop here, I hope you will understand why make your #Aadhaar number public is not a good idea (sic)," Alderson posted with the last tweet in this thread.
Sharma had claimed in the past that there has been no instance of Aadhaar data being breached and had there been one, the entire Aadhaar database would have been rendered vulnerable. Sharma, former Director General of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has vouched for the safety of the Aadhaar system and dismissed privacy concerns over Aadhaar even while holding the position of TRAI chief.
This series of events unfolded on the micro-blogging platform just a day after the Justice Srikrishna Committee presented its report on data protection where it mooted changes in Aadhaar Act and proposed new safeguards.
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The Justice Srikrishna panel on data protection has recommended that Aadhaar Act is amended "significantly" to bolster privacy safeguards, and mooted that only public authorities discharging public functions approved by the UIDAI or entities mandated by law be given the right to request for identity authentication.The report, submitted yesterday, assumes significance given that public and private sectors are collecting and using personal data on an unprecedented scale and for various purposes, and instances of unregulated and arbitrary use, especially that of personal data, have raised concerns about privacy and autonomy of an individual.
Over the last one year, there have also been reports of personal information being allegedly compromised with increasing use of biometric identifier Aadhaar in an array of services, and the Supreme Court has reserved its judgement on a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar Act.
(Edited by Vivek Punj with agencies' input)