Misuse of Aadhar

Sir — As many as 210 websites connected with the State and Union Government, including the educational institutions, have made  Aadhar information public. The argument is that data is out in the public domain to ensure transparency. The information contained in the Aadhar card is confidential. No other person should be privy to it. As the list of cyber crimes keeps spiralling, by releasing such information, we are playing into the hands of identity thieves and criminals. Already there have been reports of online and credit card frauds by hackers. If citizens are harassed by the release of this confidential information, then the responsibility shall lie squarely with the Government. The Supreme Court, too, has given a favourable judgement with regard to privacy. It said that it is up to the individual to disclose what he wants and he cannot be coerced. We need to ensure a safe network before putting it all out there.