#ThrowBackToday: Recounting one of the many cases of Aadhaar data leaks that was reported

The 12-digit unique identity number that all of us have, also called Aadhaar, was hailed as the world's largest and most sophisticated biometric system, but it has run into trouble quite a few times. We take you through a few of them:

- May 2017: Centre for Internet and Society report said that 135 million Aadhaar numbers were exposed owing to the irresponsibility of a central government department and a state government.
- September 2018: A software patch that disabled security features. This allowed anyone from anywhere to enroll users
- March 2019: Remember the time when a French security researcher claimed that Indian government websites were leaking document IDs including Adhaar cards? This researcher has been critical of the security risk which is involved when all personal details are stored on a common server  
- March 24, 2018: A business technology news website reported another major data leak that allowed access to names and even bank account details of many. And though it faced a discrediting campaign, it stood by its report

Many such issues have led to Aadhaar being accused of infringing upon privacy, but it's still going strong. On that note, the last date to link your PAN card to your Aadhaar card is March 31.