Comprehensive safeguards are in place to protect the personal data of Aadhaar number holders, and there has been no breach of Aadhaar data from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) database so far, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Aadhaar, the world’s largest biometric identity system, has around 134 crore active holders and has recorded more than 16,000 crore authentication transactions. The UIDAI, which issues Aadhaar, has put in place a multi-layered security architecture based on a defence-in-depth approach to secure its database. The systems are continuously reviewed and audited to guard against potential threats.
According to the government, UIDAI uses advanced encryption technologies to protect data both during transmission and storage. It has been declared a protected system, with the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre providing continuous security advisories to strengthen its cybersecurity posture.
The authority also conducts regular cybersecurity audits of its applications, including Static Application Security Testing (SAST) and Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST). An independent audit agency has been engaged to establish a Governance, Risk, Compliance, and Performance (GRCP) framework for the Aadhaar ecosystem and to oversee adherence to these standards.
