Widely-available software patch enables the creation of new people on the Aadhaar database

In September 2018, a software patch was found by journalists to be widely available, that disabled or weakened the security features in the software used to enroll people on the Aadhaar databse, potentially from anywhere in the world. The patch was reportedly widely-available in WhatsApp groups, available for around $35USD. The demand for individuals to access the Aadhaar databse goes back to 2010, when private entities were allowed to enroll people in the Aadhaar database, to encourage enrollment. Following abuses, this was stopped in 2018, leaving tens of thousands of young men - without formal schooling but knowledgable about Aadhaar - without a source of income. This has stimulated the demand for ways of giving these individuals the ability to take up their former role. This security breach, allowing people to add entries to the Aadhaar database, means that the database could contain many fraudulent or non-existent entries.

https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2018/09/11/uidai-s-aadhaar-software-hacked-id-database-compromised-experts-confirm_a_23522472/
Publication: Huffington Post
Authors: Rachna Khaira, Aman Sethi, Gopal Sathe
Date: 11/9/2018