New Delhi: Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday called the new security measures to secure Aadhaar data meaningless, saying that damage has been done as millions of citizens have already shared their unique ID number with service providers.
"Under compulsion, millions of persons have already shared Aadhaar number with many service providers. New security layer is like locking the stable after horses have bolted," the former Finance Minister tweeted.
To address privacy concerns, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Wednesday introduced a new concept of 'Virtual ID' which Aadhaar-card holder can generate from its website and give for various purposes, including SIM verification, instead of sharing the actual 12-digit biometric ID.
This will give the users the option of not sharing their Aadhaar number at the time of authentication. This was done to address privacy concerns after reports claimed a breach in the Aadhaar database.
The Virtual ID, which would be a random 16-digit number, together with biometrics of the user would give any authorized agency like a mobile company, limited details like name, address and photograph, which are enough for any verification.
Former UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani has said that there was an "orchestrated campaign" to malign Aadhaar. "There is hundred per cent an orchestrated campaign to see how Aadhaar gets maligned, yes absolutely," said Nilekani on the sidelines of a function in Bengaluru.
(With IANS inputs)
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