Aadhaar Data Security: UIDAI Introduces ‘Face Authentication’, Service to be Launched by July 1

New Delhi, Jan 15: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Monday introduced 'Face Authentication' technology to safeguard Aadhaar cardholders' data. The 'Face Authentication' service

New Delhi, Jan 15: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Monday introduced ‘Face Authentication’ technology to safeguard Aadhaar cardholders’ data. The ‘Face Authentication’ service will be launched by July 1, said Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of UIDAI. (ALSO READ: Aadhaar Face Authentication: All You Need to Know About UIDAI’s Facial Recognition Feature)

“@UIDAI introduces yet another landmark technology for authentication – Face Authentication. #AadhaarFaceAuth will help all elderly or others facing issues with fingerprint authentication. Service to be launched by 1 July 2018,” read a tweet from the official Twitter handle of CEO of UIDAI.

@UIDAI introduces yet another landmark technology for authentication – Face Authentication. #AadhaarFaceAuth will help all elderly or others facing issues with fingerprint authentication. Service to be launched by 1 July 2018.

— CEO UIDAI (@ceo_uidai) January 15, 2018

On January 10, the UIDAI introduced ‘Virtual ID’ (VID) and limited ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) service for Aadhaar holders in a bid to address privacy concerns. With the introduction of ‘Virtual ID’, a fungible number mapped to the Aadhaar number, holders will be given an option to not share their 12-digit biometric code, stated UIDAI in a notification.

The move comes amid heightened concerns around the collection and storage of personal and demographic data of individuals after The Tribune reported it bought unrestricted access to details of over one billion Aadhaar numbers — for just Rs 500 and in 10 minutes.

Last week, the Tribune report, widely shared on social media, claimed that it had got access through an “agent” to every detail of any individual submitted to the UIDAI including name, address, postal code, photo, phone number and email and found in its investigation that unauthorised persons had gained access to people’s personal information.