JOIN USTrai chief R S Sharma, who disclosed his Aadhaar number publicly and challenged Twitterati — to prove how mere knowledge of the 12 digit number could be misused to cause harm – on Sunday said he disclosed his unique number not as a regulatory head but as an ordinary citizen of India.
"...Pl understand that I threw this challenge, not as Trai Chairman, but as a normal citizen of India," Sharma tweeted replying to two users, one of them a French security expert who goes under the pseudonym Elliot Alderson and describes himself as "worst nightmare" of the UIDAI.
An all-out war had erupted on Twitter on Saturday after the Trai chief gave out his Aadhaar number, triggering a deluge of tweets that claimed to disclose his personal details — from PAN to mobile number.
Some rushed to support Sharma, explaining how the much of the information about him could be procured without using his Aadhaar number.
Incidentally, Alderson, the vigilante hacker who uses the handle @fs0c131y on Twitter, has in the past revealed purportedly flaws in Aadhaar system and exposed data security loopholes in mobile apps of political parties like the BJP and the Congress.
"People managed to get your personal address, dob (date of birth) and your alternate phone number. I stop here, I hope you will understand why make your #Aadhaar number public is not a good idea," Alderson had tweeted, following Sharma's challenge.
Giving out his full Aadhaar number, Sharma (@rssharma3) had tweeted: "Now I give this challenge to you: Show me one concrete example where you can do any harm to me!".
While much of the information that was dug out may already been in the public domain, Sharma did not verify whether the specific details pertaining to PAN were indeed correct.
While many on Twitter claimed victory over 'leaking' Sharma's personal details post the challenge, the TRAI chief asserted that challenge is not about disclosing phone numbers but for causing harm using knowledge of his Aadhaar number.
“Sharma ji have ordered one plus 6 using ur address and phone num on Amason..and yeah its COD..please pay money accept my gift.” Shahrukh tweeted.