UIDAI asks people to refrain from putting their Aadhaar numbers online

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has asked people to refrain from publicly putting their Aadhaar numbers on the internet and social media and posing challenges to others.

UIDAI said that it has personally sensitive information like bank account number, passport number, PAN number, etc.

"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Rules, 2011 and Justice Srikrishna's proposed Data Protection Bill, personally sensitive information should not be published or shared publicly the authority said.

Aadhaar number should be shared only if there was a need to do so for establishing identity and for legitimate transactions, UIDAI added.

UIDAI also warned that if 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.

The whole matter came into limelight when Sharma shared his Aadhaar number on Twitter and threw a challenge that how it can be used to cause him harm.

However the Authority strongly dismissed the claims earlier and said this so-called "hacked"information (about Sharma's personal details such as his address, date of birth, photo, mobile number, e-mail, etc.) was already available in the public domain as he is a public servant for decades and was easily available on Google and various other sites by a simple search without Aadhaar number.

UIDAI said in a statement that certain so-called hackers while responding to a challenge thrown by Sharma to attempt to really 'harm him by using his Aadhaar number', have claimed to have found out his mobile number, PAN and other details such as alternate mobile number, DOB and email, photo, frequent flight details, etc., through Aadhaar.

This so-called claim, UIDAI said, is a farce and people should not believe such fraudulent elements active on social and other media. Aadhaar database is fully safe and secure and no such information about Sharma has been fetched from UIDAI's severs orAadhaar database.

This is merely cheap publicity by these unscrupulous elements who try to attract attention by creating such fake news.