Who Got Hacked This Week? January 12 Edition

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Who Got Hacked This Week? January 12 Edition, slide 3

Indian Biometric Identity Database Compromised

The government authority in charge of India’s billion-records-and-counting Aadhaar biometric identity database, the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI), has suspended 5,000 officials from accessing the system.

An unnamed UIDAI officer has now told The Economic Times that “all the privileges given to designated officers for access have been immediately withdrawn”.

The Economic Times also reported that access has been overhauled so that the Aadhaar system can only be accessed if the user has the biometric identifier of the individual whose data is being verified.

Under the previous system, Aadhaar staff could open an individual’s file with their 12-digit ID number, a design that facilitated managing the 500,000 daily requests for changes to individuals’ details.

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