India Scans a Billion Irises In Interest of National Security (thestack.com)

An anonymous reader writes: The Indian government is using a loophole to fast-track legislation to allow federal agencies access to its database of 1 billion individuals' finger prints and iris scans. The Aadhaar database was set up in 2009 to 'streamline' benefit payments and help control fraud. The programme claims to have saved an estimated 150 billion rupees (approx. $2.2 billion) between 2014-2015. Privacy advocates are expressing fears that an approval in parliament could facilitate a police state, with data used to silence individuals considered as potential security threats, as well as presenting an enormous risk if breached.

Comments

Peoplw will just line up for there bar code.

[mmiscool]

It is kind of funny that in place that the cow is sacred the people are being tagged and indexed like cattle.

Re:Peoplw will just line up for there bar code.

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

How does this compare with the USA's "Real ID" project, which will essentially require a passport or federally-approved ID (no more drivers' licenses) to travel domestically by 2020.

https://www.dhs.gov/real-id-and-you-rumor-control

Re:Peoplw will just line up for there bar code.

[Anonymous Coward]

Let's see, one is legislative response to certain localities violating federal immigration law and giving identical identification cards to non-citizens as citizens, the other is a national database of biometric data on their entire population.

Are you really that stupid?

Also, your link does not say what you think it does.

Re:Peoplw will just line up for there bar code.

[nospam007]

"...the other is a national database of biometric data on their entire population."

Hardly. India has over 1, 3 billion citizens, the database apparently only 1 billion.

http://www.worldometers.info/w...

Re:Peoplw will just line up for there bar code.

[Bob the Super Hamste]

require a passport or federally-approved ID (no more drivers' licenses) to travel domestically by 2020.

I thought it was this year unless your state got an temporary exemption/reprieve as there was a huge dust-up late last and the year beginning of this year in my state because we didn't have one and have a law that prevents us from implementing the requirements.

Re:Peoplw will just line up for there bar code.

[mrops]

It is antsy for sure, just had a trip to India last month, a mere tourist visa for 30 days and they scanned for my finger prints.

Here I am at immigration counter asked to scan my finger prints. I don't know what this data will be used for. I don't know how it will be protected. I don't know what will happen if I say no.

I spent about $10k for the trip, should I say no and be returned back on next flight or just scan my finger print and hope for the best. Hell, even my 5 year old had to scan his prints, what for!

Re:Peoplw will just line up for there bar code.

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

>> There are only a couple of States who have license that don't qualify.

The states affected in 2018 include 10.9% of the US population: Illinois (4.4%), Minnesota (1.8%), Missouri (2%), New Mexico (0.6%) and Washington (2.1%).

However, in 2020 that jumps to 67.7% of the US population (56.8% more) with these states: Alaska (0.2%), Arizona (1.9%), Arkansas (1%), California (12.1%), Idaho (0.5%), Kentucky (1.4%), Louisiana (1.6%), Massachusetts (2.2%), Maine (0.4%), Michigan (3.5%), Montana (0.3%), North Carolina (2.9%), North Dakota (0.2%), New Hampshire (0.4%), New Jersey (3%), New York (6.7%), Oklahoma (1.2%), Oregon (1.2%), Pennsylvania (4.3%), Rhode Island (0.4%), South Carolina (1.4%), Texas (7.5%) and Virginia (2.5%).

That's bigger than "a couple" my friend!

Re:Peoplw will just line up for there bar code.

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

>> your link [dhs.gov] does not say what you think it does.

At that site I read that "You can continue to use your license to fly in the U.S." only applies to people whose licenses are from certain states once the years 2018 and 2020 hit. That's the focus of the graphic on the top of that page.

Even before that, people from "bad" states like IL and others are already using their passports to get onto federal installations (e.g., military bases), so I'd imagine that passports (which many travellers already own) will become the favored domestic ID, although other federal IDs will likely be acceptable. (See "Appendix B" of: https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/isc-real-id-guide-august-2015-508_0.pdf for a list of "acceptable" IDs already being used.)

What do you think I misinterpreted?

Biometrics?

[wkwilley2]

Good luck changing your retinal structure when the database gets hacked.

At least you get stastical data I guess?

[allaunjsilverfox2]

While this seems like a terrible idea for more than one reason, I guess a 1 billion seems like a healthy sample size to test how well these techniques actually work. In addition, you can test some theories about how random finger print whorls actually are.

Identity crisis

[theprophetof sarcasm]

So lets just say some hacker is able to breach this system and steal all of their identities....Can we then in turn buy all of this information or the dark web? If so I am there, I'm so calling them and telling them they are late for payments.

Morshu sez

[Jogar the Barbarian]

Lamp oil? Rope? Bombs? Iris scans? It's yours, my friend... as long as you've got 150 billion rupees!

Next up...

[msauve]

The Netherlands scans one billion tulips!

Endlessly familiar

[yakumo.unr]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Shared misery

[kheldan]

Gee, I feel so much better about the direction the United States is going, knowing that 4 times as many people in India are facing the same things we are.

..wait, NO, I'M NOT, it's all BULLSHIT. FUCK this dystopian future we're facing! This shit has to STOP!

MEMO TO GOVERNMENT ASSHOLES ALL OVER THE WORLD: Stop spying on us! Stop sticking your little brown noses into our lives! FUCK THE FUCK OFF!

Re:Shared misery

[GLMDesigns]

saying "brown nose" has been flagged and considered as racist.




/sarc
in case it wasn't obvious

Re:Shared misery

[kheldan]

/sarc

Yeah sure but I'm going to make it clear anyway: 'brown nose' in reference to nosy government types that have their noses up everyones' ass, not 'brown' as in ethnicity.

Re:Shared misery

[GLMDesigns]

The sad thing is having to put /sarc.

Too many of the faux outraged out there.

-- The preceding is my opinion. Don't like it? Get your own.

In soviet russia

[monkeyman.kix]

now all your eyes belong to us.

James Bond

[powerpositionseo]

Is this the sequel to the James Bond movie, "For Your Eyes Only".

Individuals

[Thanshin]

individuals considered as potential security threats

a.k.a. the citizens

Well you know

[ttyX]

They're just doing the needful.

Wrong title

[gopla]

It is not in interest of national security, rather in interest of preventing leakages in government subsidies. The program is voluntary, if you don't want subsidy don't enrol yourself, as simple as that.

Second part is that the program is running since 2009 without any legal backing or any government legislation. Present government is try to regulate the database and limit the usage of the collected data to just its intended purpose.

In spite of all safeguards, just like any other database this may also be breached but now there is a punishment in unlawful usage, which was missing till today even though data was already collected since 2009. And, really government cannot use this database for any of nefarious purpose as it just links names with fingerprints and Iris data, without any record of your caste, religion, mother tongue or even citizenship status.

Re:Wrong title

[gopla]

What if they trace my IP, raid my home, arrest me and throw away the key?

What has this to do with UID?. This pure paranoia. If they really wanted to do it, they can do it without this database. You know, even if you are anonymous coward, your IP can still be traced.

It is not question of trust in government. It is voluntary, if you don't trust government, don't get your fingerprints scanned and don't get UID. No body is forcing you to get government subsidy.

Remaining blind to some technology is not going to solve poverty. Using it for betterment of poorest of poor, by eliminating leakages might.

wrong target

[micahraleigh]

My Indian friends tell me it's not the general population of India that is corrupt. It's their government.

Where else can you find gang raping done by police departments?

Re:wrong target

[gopla]

My Indian friends tell me it's not the general population of India that is corrupt. It's their government.

It is government and few elite that are corrupt. But in India few means a lot, they control whole government machinery from top to bottom.

With UID, targeted subsidy will reach really needy people directly eliminating many source of leakages. Things could have continued as it is, but this is an instance of government acting under pressure and responding to public aspirations for better future for their lot. UID is causing resentment among few elites who see their easy money being stopped.

Where else can you find gang raping done by police departments?

Everywhere, where there is no accountability and no fear of punishment. But things are changing. Such people do get punished by the same government that you think is corrupt. India is after all a democracy, and government has to be responsive to public sentiments. So rapes by police never get unpunished.

Don't worry

[paiute]

They only want access this one time for this one investigation.

Orwell is looking pretty prescient today: "If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever."