Police have arrested a software engineer for stealing sensitive information on more than 50,000 people from India's Aadhaar biometric identity program, the first criminal charges stemming from a government initiative that's been criticized for lacking privacy protections.
In a Bangalore police complaint, the engineer was accused of gaining information from the nationwide platform from January to July by using an app to mimic another initiative that lets Aadhaar holders set up appointments online with Delhi hospitals.
Launched in January of 2009, Aadhaar's overseers are already grappling with accusations of inadequate security for data gathered from more than a billion Indians, as well as potential violations of personal privacy. The country's Supreme Court is about to rule on a separate case that seeks to uphold privacy as a fundamental right, in a challenge to the program's legality.