UIDAI Seeking 20 Ethical Hackers to Protect Its Data, Plug Security Bugs. Read Details


New Delhi: Amid increasing cyber attacks against key infrastructure and government websites in India, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has quietly announced a “bug bounty programme” to hire 20 ethical hackers to protect its website and resources from nation-state bad actors. The recently-issued circular said that the programme will be limited to 20 registered candidates. “The UIDAI reserves the right to evaluate and select top 20 suitable candidates for participation in the programme,” the authority said in its circular.Also Read – Meta Likely to Invest $3 Million in Indian Startup ‘Better Opinions’: Report

It added that the candidate should be listed in the top 100 of the bug bounty leaders board such as HackerOne, or Bugcrowd. The candidate may also be listed in the bounty programmes “conducted by reputable companies such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Apple etc. or the candidate should be active in the bug bounty community/programmes and should have submitted valid bugs or received bounty in the last one year”. Also Read – What Are The Top Brands For Hackers to Steal People’s Data Via Phishing?

The bug bounty programme of the UIDAI comes at a time when earlier reports claimed that Chinese state-sponsored hackers allegedly infiltrated and stole data from it. The authority allayed the fears, saying, the leaking of Aadhaar numbers will not pose any hacking threat to bank accounts. Also Read – Aadhaar FaceRD App Launched By UIDAI | Here’s How You Can Confirm Your Identity With Face Authentication

‘Like just by knowing your ATM card number….’

“Just as by merely knowing your ATM card number, no one can withdraw money from the ATM machine; by knowing your Aadhaar number alone, no one can hack into your bank account and withdraw money,” the UIDAI said while posting some myth busters related to Aadhaar on its website. “Rest assured, there has not been a single case of financial loss due to Aadhaar. Aadhaar number alone cannot be used for banking or any other service,” it added.

Independent committee to assess candidates

The UIDAI said an independent committee will be formulated to assess and verify the candidates’…

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