In the dock for writing an article on the “security loopholes” in the Aadhaar system, Sameer Kochhar, head of a Gurgaon-based think tank, says he has only done his “patriotic duty” and the Unique Identification Authority of India has taken corrective measures after his “expose”.
Mr. Kochhar is the author of Modinomics , a book on the development model followed in Gujarat when Narendra Modi was Chief Minister. “Is a deep state at work to steal Digital India?”, the article on Aadhaar published in his Web magazine, Inclusion , on February 11, included a video of how unauthorised transactions are being done by misusing stored biometrics. The Delhi police registered an FIR against him under the newly implemented Aadhaar Act for spreading rumours.
In an e-mail response to The Hindu , Mr. Kochhar said: “I have only done my patriotic duty by writing a story on the vulnerability in the Aadhaar system, based on the inputs and evidence received. If this is a crime, FIRs would have to be filed against everyone in the media.” He said the police were yet to contact him. “I have not been informed that there is an FIR against me,” he said.
Corrective action
Mr. Kochhar said the video evidence that he posted was sent by a person.
“Subsequently, the UIDAI issued a notice to that person, clearly stating that he has indeed successfully done transactions using stored biometrics which is illegal. Subsequently, they also announced new steps on hardware encryption of Aadhaar data and also suspended the licences of some entities. So much of action has happened after my expose, that shows that the UIDAI has not only accepted the vulnerability but is also working overtime to take corrective action to make Aadhaar more secure. The electronic trail of the video evidence for the story is available with us. No one has sought that yet,” he said.
He said he had shared his concern with all relevant government officials, including the UIDAI, through mails, confidential communication and social media, and despite this, an FIR was filed against him. “Well, I have pointed to the loopholes ... What is intriguing though, is a large number of media reports on an FIR against me that I have not even seen. This does come across as an attempt to malign and intimidate me into silence, by who? I cannot say,” he said.
Mr. Kochhar said he was a reform historian and a policy wonk related to digital, financial and social inclusion. He has authored Modinomics , a book detailing the development model of Gujarat under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I have published 18 books so far, including on subjects like Aadhaar, cyber security etc. The government has been supportive of my work and quite a few reform initiatives have been influenced by my work. I have been supportive of Aadhaar and have described it as a way to Digital Deliverance in my last book. My concerns essentially are related to having the right regulatory environment that prevents security breaches and lays out processes to be followed while making technology choice decisions,” he said.
