Hyderabad: Sensitive data containing such details as religion and caste of 1.34 lakh Aadhaar card holders has been leaked from the Andhra Pradesh State Housing Corporation website, ostensibly originating from a list titled ‘Beneficiary Details belonging to Entry Report for Scheme Hudhud’ on the site.
With this latest leak, Andhra Pradesh has compromised data regarding nearly two crore Aadhaar card holders, out of a population of five crore. Experts feel the leak can be misused for such activities as religious profiling, which is a potential security nightmare. Telangana government websites have not reported any such leak thus far.
The data leak was reported by security researcher Srinivas Kodali, who identified details that include Aadhaar number, bank branch, IFSC code, account number, father’s name, address, Panchayat, mobile number, ration card number, occupation, religion and caste, on a live website that is yet to be shut down.
“It has been the view among many experts that Aadhaar is being linked to religion and caste information, apart from occupation.
The UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) may not be doing it, but other government departments are. And the AP housing corporation website is proof. The UIDAI has no idea what information is being linked to the unique ID,”Kodali said.
“The UIDAI has informed the Supreme Court that no data regarding religion or caste is collected through Aadhaar, which is partly true. Instead,it is allowing states to collect sensitive data. It is not illegal to collect data under the act but making it public is prohibited. Such data can be misused to know a voter’s profile, and more. Also, at the bottom of the website, the AP government has put in a disclaimer, which says, nobody is responsible if data is leaked, and no official can be penalised. The government says it will only use Aadhaar to track beneficiaries of government programmes. That means they will track everyone. How can anyone not use government services?” he said.
