Rootconf 2018

The Aadhaar project by the UIDAI has been critiqued several times by the media, public and stakeholders. The criticism has been mainly on the implementation, deployment and the architecture of the the Aadhaar project.

In this talk, Rachna will highlight the lapses observed in the Aadhaar implementation and architecture, while comparing them to the harsh realities on ground. An IT project this large has been deployed in almost every city and village without proper user education or testing.

Regulations on Aadhaar implementation and access are very ambiguous, with clarifications and corrections coming in after the lapses are reported publicly.

Rachna will take a look at some of the areas where there should be stricter control and processes such as the enrolment process and procurement of hardware for biometric authentication. Further, the talk will also cover some aspects of software development and security which are not taken so seriously.

Finally, Rachna will talk about the various exploits and vulnerabilities in the system and cover the redressal mechanisms for any resident grievances.

Outline

• UIDAI and its role
• On ground realities of Aadhaar
• Demo of biometric device
• Demo of enrolment software
• Implementation
• Biometric authentication, hardware required and the issues
• Access control of Aadhaar Enrolment software and architecture
• User education and awareness, education of operators and staff
• Security measures and lapses
• GPS chip polling
• Non certified hardware and machines
• Access to hardware online
• Signing of the Aadhaar application and clones
• Grievance redressal and mechanisms

Speaker bio

Rachna Khaira is The Tribune’s Senior Staff Correspondent and is covering regional politics, NRI Affairs, and Sports since 2013 at Jalandhar.

Married to a former army officer in the Indian army, the journalist was exposed to pan India reporting experience in states including New Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka and at her present posting place in Punjab.

She started her career with Asian News International (ANI) as a tv journalist at New Delhi and later went ahead to work with national English dailies including Times of India and the Indian Express at Chandigarh. The journalist also worked with vernacular dailies like Rajasthan Patrika in Bikaner and even produced a 1women empowerment show ‘Manasi’ for a local tv channel in Karnataka.

An investigative reporter by nature, the journalist had highlighted serious lacunas in the children adoption process adopted by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) in India where children reported as missing in various police stations of Punjab were found offered in adoption to foreign nationals.

She is a graduate in English (Honours) from Delhi University with a post graduate diploma in journalism and Mass Communication.

Her recent expose on the vulnerability of Aadhar database in her report ‘Rs 500, 10 minutes and you have access to billion Aadhar details’has shaken the entire nation falling which an FIR was registered on her by the UIDAI.

Slides

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cBLrGs_uIivjBSJeeHjHOM3Qv4aceESrUT_Rtn2W3vE/edit?usp=sharing