On January 4, Jalandhar-based journalist Rachna Khaira broke what could be the scoop of the year. She was tipped off about alleged unauthorised access to the Aadhaar database, which stores the demographic details and biometric information of more than 1.19 billion Indians. Aadhaar was a technological marvel for most Indians till then, thanks to relentless promotion by the government. But, soon after the report was published in The Tribune, it began to be associated with privacy violations and is being perceived with increased scepticism. Khaira talked to THE WEEK about the investigation and the events that followed. Edited excerpts:
How was the story planned and executed?
Though we were aware of the Supreme Court case, the story was not planned even a day before it was published. That’s the beauty of the story.
Bharat Bhushan Gupta, the ‘village-level entrepreneur’ who told me about the unauthorised access, claims that he had got the access on December 29. Once he was aware about the unauthorised access, he tried to bring it to the notice of the UIDAI, but made little headway. He then approached his friends in the media, but somehow the story was not done. Then, he contacted The Tribune. I was at his place at 10am the next morning. And, we managed to crack the whole story, including statements from the officials by around 2:30pm. It was not planned.
What do you think about UIDAI’s reponse, despite you keeping them in loop about your story?
The UIDAI seems to have got confused, because it was the first time one of us highlighted this issue so prominently. Initially, they thought that an FIR would keep us quiet. But, they didn’t anticipate the kind of support national and international media were going to offer. UIDAI kept on denying one thing after the other.
Once I had access and was convinced about the data leak, I informed one of my senior editors [based in Chandigarh]. He wanted to be sure. I asked him to give his Aadhaar number, entered it in the database and told him his date of birth and other details. He got alarmed.
That is when we decided to go ahead with the story. The second call I made was to UIDAI officials in Chandigarh. First, I called Prem Kumar Thakur, deputy director of UIDAI Chandigarh. He said he was in a meeting. Soon, I got a call back from Sanjay Jindal, additional director-general of UIDAI Chandigarh. I told him that I had got unauthorised access and asked him ‘how could this happen?’.
He asked me to give him the login details. Since he could have plugged the leakage then and there, I asked him ‘Why don’t you give me your Aadhaar number and I’ll get you your details’. This will prove that the database was compromised. He did not give his number. That was the convincing point for me. I decided that there is something wrong and I needed to highlight this issue.
I could have gone ahead with the investigation and explored more loopholes. I could have got more information, but I thought it is better to report the issue immediately, to prevent further damage to the security of the Aadhaar database.
Interestingly, we had also met a few people who were offering us a master software for Rs 2,500. A master software would have enabled me to create more IDs, like the one I got for Rs 500. That was scary. I could have gone to that extent and then highlighted the issue, which I didn’t do.
Is there any clarity on the FIR? Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad says the FIR is against ‘unknown entities’.
That’s a lie. The UIDAI tried to act very smart in the FIR. They didn’t anticipate the huge media backlash over the issue. An FIR has got two parts—the box and the detailed body. To hide their intentions, they wrote ‘FIR against unknown’ in the box. However, in the body, it is written that “an FIR may be registered for immediate action at Cyber Cell, Crime Branch, Delhi Police against Anil Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Raj, Rachna Khaira, The Tribune and other unknown persons under the Aadhaar Act, IPC and the IT Act, 2000.”
If it was only my name, that would have been acceptable because the authorities don’t know me. I had suddenly shot into limelight, according to them. But, what about my paper? I was hurt because, instead of appreciating the effort, my paper and I were made to stand in line with the accused.
Have you been approached by the police?
I have not been directly contacted by the police. They have written to my office, my editor responded saying that we would be happy to provide whatever help we could. The UIDAI have told the police that Rachna, under the disguise of Anamika, has stolen the data. What needs to be seen now is this: do they have any kind of mechanism to identify and trace the breach? Is there a way to find which all Aadhaar cards have been compromised? Are more Anamikas roaming around in the Aadhaar system?
What are your personal opinions on Aadhaar?
Frankly, my entire family, including my children, had enrolled for Aadhaar a few years back. And, we have even linked it with our bank accounts. Had there been the slightest doubt about the security of Aadhaar, we wouldn’t have linked it. I’m not against the Aadhaar system. My daughter, if I’m not wrong, was less than a year old when I got her enrolled, and I was very happy and proud. But, the security issues are causing concerns now. And, this confusion is what we have highlighted through the report. We are ready to link, but not in a system that has security loopholes.
Edward Snowden tweeted in favour of you!
That was big. I’m happy that it gave international mileage and attention to the report. I’m happy that because of him the story got more accolades.
Has your life changed after the story?
Life hasn’t changed much. People are appreciating. I’d gone to Delhi, and people have started talking about it now. The biggest thing is how other newspapers and media have increased coverage of Aadhaar news. The government is also checking for loopholes in the system.
Personally, friends and family are very happy. The biggest tribute I got is that The Tribune has constituted an Editor’s Choice Award, of which I’ll be the first recipient. You get more matured, responsible and motivated with these recognitions.
The best thing is, in Punjab there are not many women journalists, and most of them are based in Chandigarh. And, in Jalandhar, despite it being a media hub, there are only a few women journalists. This story will encourage more women to take up journalism, not only in Jalandhar but also in Punjab.
