Personal data of 70 lakh Indian cardholders leaked on dark web
New Delhi: Personal details, including phone numbers and email addresses of 70 lakh Indian debit and credit card holders, have been circulating on the dark web, an Internet security researcher alerted on Tuesday. Other leaked details include names of the users, employer firms and annual income, said security researcher Rajshekhar Rajaharia.
The leaked database, sized 2GB, also reveals types of user accounts and whether they have switched on mobile alerts or not. "Data pertains to the period between 2010 and 2019, which could be very valuable to scammers and hackers," Rajaharia told in a statement.
"Since this is financial data, it is very valuable for hackers and scammers as they can use the personal contact details for phishing or other attacks," he said, while sharing screenshot of some leaked data.
The only saving grace is that the card numbers are not available. Rajaharia said that the leak "could have come from third-party service providers who are contracted by banks to sell credit/debit cards, for example."
The leaked database also includes the PAN numbers for five lakh cardholders, the Internet security researcher said. While it has not been verified whether the data of 70 lakh users are genuine or not, Rajaharia verified data of some users and found the details mentioned in many of the fields to be accurate.
"I think someone sold this data/link on the dark web and later it became public. Financial data is the most expensive data on the Internet," he said. The revelations come at a time when cybersecurity incidents have been a persistent problem for organisations around the world amid the pandemic.
Personal Data Of 7 Million Indian Credit/Debit Card holders Leaked On Dark Web. DB also includes the PAN nmbr for 5 Lakh cardholders. https://t.co/wkLyjdScjh#Be_Alet_Be_Safe #Infosec #DataLeak #DataBreach #infosecurity #CyberSecurity #GDPR #DataSecurity #Banks #CreditCard #CC pic.twitter.com/Y02COK7Vuc
— Rajshekhar Rajaharia (@rajaharia) December 8, 2020
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SC to hear on May 4 PIL seeking stringent guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents, adults
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years, and frame stringent guidelines for its issuance to adolescents and adults to stop infiltrators from masquerading as Indian citizens.
As per the apex court's causelist of May 4, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has also sought a direction to the authorities to install display boards at common service centres stating that the 12-digit unique identification number is only a "proof of identity" and not a proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Besides all the states and Union Territories, the plea has made the UIDAI -- which is the authority that issues Aadhaar -- and the Union ministries of home, law and justice, and electronics and information technology as parties.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, said Aadhaar, originally intended as a proof of identity, has increasingly become a "foundational document" enabling individuals to obtain other identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter identity cards.
"The UIDAI has issued 144 crore Aadhaar and 99 percent Indians have been enrolled. Therefore, the petitioner is filing this writ petition as a PIL under Article 32, seeking a direction to UIDAI to issue new Aadhaar to children only and frame new stringent guidelines for adolescents and adults, so as to stop infiltrators from getting it and masquerading as Indian citizens," the plea said.
It said the need to file the plea arose when the petitioner came to know the manner in which infiltrators are able to procure Aadhaar through a verification process that is weak and can be easily manipulated.
"Foreigners apply for Aadhaar under the 'foreign' category. But infiltrators apply for Aadhaar under the 'Indian citizen' category and get it easily made. Thereafter, they obtain a ration card, birth and domicile certificate, driving licence, et cetera, essentially becoming indistinguishable from Indian citizens…," it said.
Besides seeking other directions, the plea has raised legal questions, including whether the Aadhaar Act 2016 has become "temporally unreasonable" for failing to keep up with the legislative intent of distinguishing foreigners from Indian citizens.
It said the alleged misuse of Aadhaar undermines targeted welfare delivery and leads to diversion of public resources.
