World’s Largest Biometric Digital ID System Hacked Affecting Nearly 10% of the World’s Population

World’s Largest Biometric Digital ID System Hacked Affecting Nearly 10% of the World’s Population

Emmitt Barry

In a significant security breach of India’s Aadhaar, the world largest Biometric Digital ID System, an anonymous hacker claims to have compromised the personal identifiable information (PII) of approximately 10% of the world’s population. This includes digital ID numbers and sensitive data of around 815 million Indian citizens.

This security breach affects over 60% of the 1.3 billion Indian individuals enrolled in the government’s Aadhaar biometric digital identity program, and it encompasses around 10% of the entire global population. Described as the largest breach in the country’s history by the Hindustan Times, the personal data of hundreds of millions of Indians is now available on the dark web for as little as $80,000.

To obtain an Aadhaar card, Indian residents must submit essential demographic details such as their name, date of birth, age, address, and gender. Additionally, they are required to provide biometric data, which includes ten fingerprints, two eyeball scans, and a facial photograph. Regrettably, a substantial portion of this data seems to have been compromised.

Aadhaar, which translates to “foundation” in Hindi, is a 12-digit unique identity (UID) number issued by the government after verifying an individual’s biometric and demographic details. Introduced in 2012 as a program to provide every Indian resident with a distinctive identification number, it has grown to become the world’s largest digital identity system, with 1.3 billion UIDs issued by 2021, encompassing an astounding 92% of India’s population.