Like any technology, UID comes with a double edge. The task of storing information of the entire population of a country in a database is not without risks. This will open up a whole new spectrum of crimes, in the way the data, if leaked, can be misused.
The level of integration that will happen with other systems like PAN card and IT department, on one hand, will give convenient access to a huge trail of demographic, financial and personal data - Address, Family members, property owned, bank accounts. On the other hand, if the information were to fall in the wrong hands, one can not imagine the number of ways the data can be misused, right from loss of privacy to identity theft and major financial frauds.
By linking an individual's personal, identifying information to a UID, the UIDAI will be creating a transaction identity for each resident that is both verified and reliable. This means that the resident's identity will possess value; and enable the transfer of money and resources.
Basic personal information such as date of birth is used to verify owners of credit card/bank accounts and online accounts. Such information will therefore, have to be protected. Loss of this information risks the resident's financial and other assets, as well as reputation,when the resident is a victim of identity theft.
The Authority will concern itself only with identity fraud. Since the CIDR will store the biometric of residents, identity fraud will be easier to control. The only form of fraud that may go undetected in the UID system is if a person registers his/her details and biometrics under an entirely different name, with forged supporting documents. However, the person will have to exist under this name across systems, in the lifetime of his/her interaction with the government, private agencies and service providers. Such instances are therefore, likely to be rare.
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