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TRAI chief RS Sharma posts screenshots showing failed attempts by ‘hackers’

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Aadhaar (Photo: Twitter)


Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman RS Sharma, who issued a daring challenge to all by posting his Aadhaar number on Twitter, returned on the social media platform with screenshots of failed attempts by “hackers”.

Sharma posted screenshots of failed attempts at depositing money through the Aadhaar number he made public on 28 July.

In a series of posts on Monday evening, Sharma said, “Hi friends! Back from my village. Quick update: Forget about withdrawing money from my A/c, these ‘Hackers’ couldn’t even deposit the Re 1!”

“Looks like @TOIIndiaNews, @ZeeNews @Outlookindia @TimesNow need to change their headline!” he added taking a jibe at the media for questioning his challenge.

 

In a second tweet, Sharma said the “hackers” were trying to deposit money using his Aadhaar number and not his “leaked” bank account.

“Some more attempts to deposit money. Note: This was done using my Aadhaar number, not my ‘leaked’ Bank Accounts!” he said.

 

“Sorry I am not open for bribes. Friends please look up the word ‘ethical’, because this is not it,” Sharma warned.

“I’m always ready for constructive discussions. If you have any suggestions please share,” he added.

 

On 28 July, Sharma took everyone by surprise by publicly revealing his Aadhaar number on Twitter and challenging people on the Internet to prove that the number can be used to do harm to the user.

“My Aadhaar number is **** **** ****. Now I give this challenge to you: Show me one concrete example where you can do any harm to me!” he posted after the Twitter user dared him to reveal the number as Sharma had claimed in an interview with The Print.

Moments after Sharma revealed his Aadhaar number, Elliot Alderson – the secretive Twitter user who is known to reveal security loopholes in the data system – put out Sharma’s phone number. In a series of tweets, Alderson claimed that the phone number belongs to Sharma’s secretary.

Read More: TRAI chief reveals his Aadhaar number, challenges Tweeple to breach his privacy

But some users mocked Alderson’s ‘revelations’ claiming that Sharma’s number was already in the public domain.

“Such a big hacker and all he could manage in 5 hours is a phone number which is already a public record (he’s a government official)? The man gave his Aadhaar number and challenged everyone to bring something concrete which could harm him, not something which is public record,” wrote a Twitter user.

In his interview with The Print, Sharma had said UIDAI does not get bank details of the user even if it is connected to Aadhaar.

“Even if a bank account is linked to Aadhaar, UIDAI does not get your bank details and only serves to authenticate identity,” he said.

Writing for The Indian Express on 31 July, Sharma said in a column the tweet “was not an impulsive one” but was done to “prove the larger point that Aadhaar is designed in such a way that it cannot cause harm to the holder, but only empowers him or her”.

“My point is simple: Aadhaar does not contribute to increasing any of your other digital vulnerabilities,” he wrote.

Commenting on the failed attempts by ‘hackers’, Sharma wrote, “In the last two days, there have been hundreds of attempts at false authentication from UIDAI servers and not even a single one of them has succeeded. Thus far I have not lost the challenge and I’m very confident that I will not.”

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