Don’t share Aadhaar details on social media: UIDAI advice after TRAI Chief’s dare

Days after Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chief RS Sharma’s Aadhaar challenge on Twitter went wrong, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Tuesday advised people not to share their Aadhaar details on social media platforms.

"People are advised to refrain from publicly putting their Aadhaar numbers on internet and social media and posing challenges to others. Such activities are uncalled for and should be refrained as these are not in accordance with the law," the Aadhaar body said in press statement shared on Twitter.

The Aadhaar body's advisory came three days after TRAI chief shared his Aadhaar numbers publicly on his Twitter handle and challenged people to prove how mere knowledge of numbers can harm him. Soon after this, a French hacker leaked his Aadhaar details including his personal mobile number and pan numbers.

Also Read | Information published on Twitter about RS Sharma not fetched from Aadhaar database: UIDAI

UIDAI said Aadhaar number is a personally sensitive information like bank account number, passport number and PAN number, which should be shared only on a need basis for a legitimate use for establishing identity and for legitimate transactions.

“Also, as per the Aadhaar Act, 2016 and IT (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 and Justice Srikrishna’s proposed Data Protection Bill, personally sensitive information should not be published or shared publicly’’ the UIDAI statement said.

Also Read | Data protection panel likely to submit report by early August; may spur amendments in laws like Aadhaar

UIDAI also said that doing Aadhaar authentication through somebody else’s Aadhaar number or using someone else’s Aadhaar number for any purpose may amount to impersonation and thereby a criminal offence under the Aadhaar Act and Indian Penal Code.

“Any person indulging in such acts or abetting or inciting others to do so makes themselves liable for prosecution and penal action under the law. Therefore people should refrain from such acts,” UIDAI added.

Sharing his 12-digit Aadhaar number, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Chairman RS Sharma threw a challenge to users to show him if it made him vulnerable to any security risks.

Read More | TRAI Chief's Aadhaar details leaked after he challenged hackers to prove its vulnerability

Many hackers subsequently put out the TRAI chief’s registered mobile number, PAN number and other details including his date of birth, address, claiming they traced the same from his Aadhaar number.

UIDAI, however, dismissed all claims about Sharma’s details being hacked using his Aadhaar number. UIDAI said the information published on Twitter about Sharma was not fetched from Aadhaar database or UIDAI’s servers.