The leaks took place through government agencies that handle Aadhar data. According to the report, Indias National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA), the Govt. of Andhra Pradeshs Chandranna Bima Scheme, and the Govt. of Andhra Pradeshs Daily Online Payment Reports of NREGA are responsible for the security incident.
The Aadhaar system was set up in 2008 and the Aadhaar national database is one of the richest government-operated databases across the globe, holding more than just your basic identity details. The system assigns each Indian a 12-digit ID in the form of XXXX-XXXX-XXXX, and records information such as home addresses, information on all bank accounts, mobile phone numbers, and all the biometrics details you can imagine, ranging from eye colour to fingerprints, and from height to iris scans.
When it was first launched, the program was advertised as a database of Indian citizens details, which the government could use to pay subsidies and other benefits. Each user could register and assign a bank account to his Aadhaar ID, where to receive social benefits. In 2016, the Indian government has pushed the adoption of the Aadhaar system in almost every facet of day-to-day life.
Regarding the incident, the Centre for Internet and Society would like the government body in charge of Aadhaar to exert more control over how this data is handled by third-parties, according to BleepingComputer.
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