NEW DELHI: The semi-government agency behind India’s national identity card project on Saturday denied a report by news website ZDNet that the program has been hit by another security lapse that allows access to private information.
ZDNet reported that a data leak on a system run by a state-owned utility company, which it did not name, could allow access to private information of holders of the biometric “Aadhaar” ID cards, exposing their names, their unique 12-digit identity numbers, and their bank details.
But the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which runs the Aadhaar program, said “there is no truth in this story” and that they were “contemplating legal action against ZDNet.”
“There has been absolutely no breach of UIDAI’s Aadhaar database. Aadhaar remains safe and secure,” the agency said in a statement late on Saturday.
“Even if the claim purported in the story were taken as true, it would raise security concerns on database of that utility company and has nothing to do with the security of UIDAI’s Aadhaar database,” it said.
Earlier, experts warned on Saturday that India risks a national security disaster unless the country’s identity database is made more secure.
The security analysts were commenting in the wake of a claim made by ZDNet that there was a new leak in the Aadhaar database, which stores the identity and biometric details of more than a billion citizens.
In a report late on Friday night, technology news website ZDNet claimed there was a data leak on a system run by a state-owned utility company.
ZDNet did not name the utility, but in a detailed explanation of the flaw said the leak allowed anyone to download private information on all Aadhaar holders. That includes names, unique 12-digit identity numbers, and information about services, such as the bank accounts and utilities.
All companies require Aadhaar to first match the account holder with the names in the Aadhaar database through an API to verify identity.
According to the ZDNet report, the utility failed to secure the API. Based on this, the report claimed that it was possible to retrieve private data on each Aadhaar holder, regardless of whether they are a customer of the utility provider or not, it said.
“There is a flaw in the system and the first step has been breached,” said Tarun Wig, co-founder Innefu Labs, a security services company in Delhi.
Any agency that deals with Aadhaar, including service providers such as mobile phone companies, has an API so it can match the customer’s identity with the database, Wig said.
“There is no way you can protect that first step since there’s no way to stop companies from storing the information,” he said. “What you can protect is the information associated with the number that you’re giving to external agencies.”
Banks should only know the Aadhaar number of their registered accounts and, similarly, mobile phone companies should know only the Aadhaar number of their users and not have access to their biometrics, Wig said.
He said another way to secure the system is to not let any companies hit the Aadhaar database directly — as is the case now. The browser-based API should be moved to the client’s server, he advised.
“The government has come too far to go back on Aadhaar,” said Wig. “And its benefits outweigh the cons, so now the focus should be to remove the vulnerabilities and make it more secure.”
In January, India’s Tribune newspaper reported that for 500 rupees it had bought unrestricted access to the entire Aadhaar database from anonymous sellers on the messaging app Whatsapp.
For an extra 300 rupees, it could get a software to print Aadhaar cards.
The government has maintained that the Aadhaar database is completely secure.
Aadhaar, or the unique identity number, was introduced by India’s previous UPA-led government. Initially, the idea was that all accounts that receive government subsidies should be linked with their unique identity number, a step toward plugging leaks in the system and ensuring that the subsidies went to the correct beneficiaries.
However, the current Narendra Modi-led government decided to extend that idea to all sectors — as a result, every service provider from mobile phones to bank accounts and e-wallets required consumers to link their respective accounts to Aadhaar.
That exercise is on hold while India’s top court decides on its legality.
Indian agency denies reported security lapse in ID card project
Indian agency denies reported security lapse in ID card project
Dutch government survives dispute over Amsterdam violence
“We have reached the conclusion that we want to remain, as a cabinet for all people in the Netherlands,” Schoof said
AMSTERDAM: Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof saved his governing coalition on Friday despite threats of an exodus by cabinet members over the right-wing government’s response to violence against Israeli soccer fans last week.
Junior Finance Minister Nora Achahbar unexpectedly quit the cabinet on Friday to protest claims by some politicians that Dutch youths of Moroccan descent attacked Israeli fans in Amsterdam around the Nov. 7 match between Dutch side Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Her resignation triggered a crisis cabinet meeting at which four ministers from her centrist NSC party also threatened to quit. If they had, the coalition would have lost its majority in parliament.
“We have reached the conclusion that we want to remain, as a cabinet for all people in the Netherlands,” Schoof said at a news conference late on Friday in The Hague.
Last week’s violence was roundly condemned by Israeli and Dutch politicians, with Amsterdam’s mayor saying “antisemitic hit-and-run squads” had attacked Israeli fans.
The city’s police department has said Maccabi fans were chased and beaten by gangs on scooters. Police also said the Israeli fans attacked a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag.
Achahbar, a former judge and public prosecutor who was born in Morocco, felt comments by several political figures were hurtful and possibly racist, De Volkskrant daily reported.
“Polarization in the recent weeks has had such an effect on me that I no longer can, nor wish to fulfil my position in this cabinet,” Achahbar said in a statement.
Schoof, a former civil servant who does not have a party affiliation, denied any ministers in the cabinet are racist. Details of the cabinet discussion were not disclosed.
The coalition is led by the anti-Muslim populist party PVV of Geert Wilders, which came top in a general election a year ago. The government was installed in July after months of tense negotiations.
Wilders, who is not a cabinet member, has repeatedly said Dutch youth of Moroccan descent were the main attackers of the Israeli fans, although police have not specified the backgrounds of suspects.
Schoof said on Monday the incidents showed that some youth in the Netherlands with immigrant backgrounds did not share “Dutch core values.”
North Korea troops in Ukraine war ‘extremely significant’ for east Asia security: Japan minister
- “We are seriously concerned over this development, and strongly condemn it,” said Tokyo’s foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya
KYIV: Japan’s foreign minister warned Saturday that North Korean troops entering the Ukraine conflict would have an “extremely significant” effect on east Asian security, with Pyongyang reportedly deploying troops to Russia’s border Kursk region.
“This will not only deepen the severity of the Ukraine situation, but also have extremely significant implications for east Asia’s security situation,” Tokyo’s foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya said while on a visit to Kyiv, pledging further support. “We are seriously concerned over this development, and strongly condemn it.”
Iran ‘categorically’ denies envoy’s meeting with Musk
TEHRAN: Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman on Saturday “categorically” denied The New York Times report on Tehran’s ambassador to the United Nations meeting with US tech billionaire Elon Musk, state media reported.
In an interview with state news agency IRNA, spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei was reported as “categorically denying such a meeting” and expressing “surprise at the coverage of the American media in this regard.”
The Times reported on Friday that Musk, who is a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, met earlier this week with Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani.
It cited anonymous Iranian sources describing the encounter as “positive.”
Iranian newspapers, particularly those aligned with the reformist party that supports President Masoud Pezeshkian, largely described the meeting in positive terms before Baghaei’s statement.
In the weeks leading up to Trump’s re-election, Iranian officials have signalled a willingness to resolve issues with the West.
Iran and the United Stated cut diplomatic ties shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the US-backed shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.
Since then, both countries have communicated through the Swiss embassy in Tehran and the Sultanate of Oman.
Indian private university opens first international campus in Dubai
- Indian FM inaugurated the Dubai campus of Symbiosis International University on Thursday
- Under national education policy, New Delhi wants to internationalize Indian education system
New Delhi: A private Indian university has opened its first international campus in Dubai this week, marking a growing education cooperation between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi.
Symbiosis International University is a private higher education institution based in the western Indian city of Pune with at least five other campuses operating across the country, offering undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate-level programs.
It is considered one of the top private business schools in the South Asian country, ranking 13th in management in the Indian Ministry of Education’s National Institutional Ranking Framework.
SIU’s Dubai campus, which will offer management, technology and media and communications courses, was officially inaugurated on Thursday by Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, the UAE minister of tolerance and coexistence.
“I am sure that this campus will foster greater collaboration and research linkages between scholars of India and UAE, for mutual prosperity and global good,” Jaishankar said during the ceremony.
“(The) ceremony is not just an inauguration of a new campus; it is a celebration of the growing educational cooperation between our two countries. Right now, Indian curriculum and learning is being imparted through more than 100 International Indian Schools in UAE, benefitting more than 300,000 students.”
Under India’s National Education Policy 2020, New Delhi aims to internationalize the Indian education system, including by establishing campuses abroad.
Another top Indian school, the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, began its first undergraduate courses in September, after starting its teaching program in January with a master’s course in energy transition and sustainability.
Initially launched in September with more than 100 students, the SIU Dubai Campus is the first Indian university in Dubai to start operations with full accreditation and licensing from the UAE’s top education authorities, including the Ministry of Education.
“A university setting up a campus abroad is not just a bold step, but a concrete commitment to the goal of globalizing India. They certainly render an educational service, but even more, connect us to the world by strengthening our living bridges,” Jaishankar added as he addressed the students.
Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar, pro-chancellor of Symbiosis International University, said that the school’s establishment in Dubai was in line with the UAE’s education goals.
“Internationalization is central to the UAE’s educational vision,” Yeravdekar said on Friday.
“By opening our campus in Dubai, we are creating a gateway for students from around the world to engage in a truly global academic experience, where they can benefit from international faculty, real-world industry collaborations, and a curriculum that meets the needs of a changing world.”
Russia captures two villages in eastern Ukraine, defense ministry says, according to agencies
MOSCOW: Russian forces have captured the villages of Makarivka and Leninskoye in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.
