

There has not been a single instance of biometric data breach from Aadhaar database. UIDAI keeps upgrading and reviewing its security systems and safety mechanisms to make Aadhaar more secure and more useable.


In the last eight years, so far more than 3,012.5 crore authentications (till 28th May 2019) have been successfully done. Notably, everyday more than 3 crore Authentications are carried out on the Aadhaar platform. No Aadhaar holder has suffered any financial or other loss or identity theft on account of any said misuse or attempted impersonation of Aadhaar. As in bank for withdrawing money, your signature, debit card, PIN, OTP, etc., is required, similarly for withdrawing money from your Aadhaar linked bank account through Aadhaar, your fingerprint, IRIS or OTP sent to your Aadhaar registered mobile will be required. Just like by merely knowing your bank account number, one cannot withdraw money from your account, similarly by merely knowing your Aadhaar number, no one can withdraw money from Aadhaar linked bank account. Further, under the Aadhaar Act, 2016 stringent penalties, including fines and imprisonment are provided whenever a person misuses your Aadhaar number or tries to cause any harm to you. In fact, Aadhaar is more secure than many other identity documents, because unlike other IDs, Aadhaar is instantly verifiable through biometric and OTP authentication and QR code. But did they stop using these documents for the fear that somebody would use them to impersonate? No! They continue using them and if any fraud happens, the law enforcement agencies handle them as per law. People have been freely giving other identity documents such as passport, voter ID, PAN card, ration card, driving license, etc. Hence, it is near impossible to impersonate you if you use Aadhaar to prove your identity. Verification is done through fingerprint, iris scan, OTP authentication, and QR code etc. Also, as per the Aadhaar Act 2016, the Aadhaar card is required to be verified either by in physical or electronic formby way of authentication or offline verification, or in such other form as may be specified. Aadhaar identity, instead, is instantly verifiable and hence more trusted. It’s just like any other identity document such as passport, voter ID, PAN card, ration card, driving license, etc., that you have been using freely for decades with service providers. Just, by knowing your Aadhaar number, no one can harm you.
