To protect the confidentiality of the Aadhaar data, the civil supplies department has swung into action.

This move happened after the Centre alerted all the State Governments of a possible leakage of the data, as it has occurred in some parts of the country. On the necessity of keeping Aadhar data a secret, the Civil Supplies Commissioner, C. V. Anand alerted the officials of his department. It is the responsibility of every employee not to disclose the demographic as well as other information collected from the beneficiaries at the time of issuance of ration cards, said Anand.

The civil supplies Commissioner further stated that if the data was still visible at any place such as online portals, then withdraw it immediately. It was in this manner the data leaks occur. On Sunday, Mr. Anand addressed a review meeting with the officials of the IT wing of his department, and National Informatics Centre. This meeting was addressed after the Centre and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) wrote to the state government, about protecting the confidentiality of the aadhar data.

Any act of publishing identity or information like Aadhaar number and demographic details along with personal sensitive information such as bank details, in violation of the Aadhaar Act 2016, and the Information Technology Act 2000, must be withhold from, with immediate effect, said Mr. Anand.

Under various provisions of the Aadhaar Act 2016, inter-alia 29(2), 29(3), 29(4), publishing Aadhaar number or other demographic information is not allowed and such action constitutes an offence under sections 37, 40 and 41, which is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years. Mr. Anand further warned that if any employee including outsourcing and contract employees are found violating these provisions, will make them liable to pay damages by way of compensation to persons affected.

The unprotected endpoint devices such as PCs, laptops, smart phones, etc. Should not contain the biometric information of Aadhaar holders collected for authentication, said Mr. Anand.

Instructions to government staff

- Do not disclose any Aadhaar related information to any external or unauthorized agency or individual or entity.

- Do not locate servers or other IT storage system or devices having Aadhaar data outside of locked and fully secured rooms.

- Do not let unauthorized people to access stored Aadhaar data.

- Do not share authentication license key with any other entity.

SUPRAJA