Database completely secure, UIDAI assures

UIDAI, the Unique Identification Authority of India, has assured that its biometrics data are completely secure. The announcement was made after some rumours cropped up last week about a possible breach in the biometric security of the Aadhaar database.

The authority has said the reported breach was a one-off incident, in which an employee working with a bank's business correspondent's company made an attempt to misuse his own biometrics. The breach was detected by UIDAI internal security system and appropriate action was taken.

A police complaint has been filed against Axis Bank, business correspondent Suvidhaa Infoserve and e-sign provider eMudhra for attempted unauthorised authentication and impersonation by illegally storing Aadhaar biometric data, said a release by UIDAI.

"Any unauthorised capture of iris or fingerprints or storage or replay of biometrics or their misuse is a criminal offence under the Aadhaar Act," it said.

Also read: Verify your drivers and domestic helps using Aadhar Cards before hiring

"UIDAI uses one of world's most advanced encryption technologies in transmission and storage of data. As a result, during the last seven years, there has been no report of breach or leak of residents' data out of UIDAI," the statement claimed.

Also read: Not easy to crack Aadhaar encryption code! Would require the most powerful computer to do that

Security of Aadhaar card is all the way more important now that a biometric-enabled payment system called Aadhaar Pay is about to be launched.

Also read: A Step Toward Digital India: 10 Crore Aadhaars Linked To Bank Accounts

(Image Source: Wikimedia)