COAI advisor seeks clean-up of Aadhaar database

The Aadhaar database needs to be cleaned up as Know Your Customer (KYC) verification for mobile services is largely done using Aadhaar, said Vikram Tiwathia, senior advisor, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

He was speaking at a panel discussion on ‘Combating cyber financial fraud: challenges and solutions’ organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

“Why are so many mobile numbers being disconnected or issued in the first place? Maximum KYC is done through Aadhaar, which is treated as a bit of a holy cow. With ASTR [Artificial intelligence and facial recognition powered solution for telecom SIM subscriber verification], most incidents were linked to misuse of Aadhaar itself. Cleaning up the Aadhaar database is, therefore, critical in policy terms,” Mr. Tiwathia said, calling for bringing aboard the Unique Identification Authority of India in future security conferences of the DoT. ASTR is an indigenous AI-powered tool developed by the DoT.

He also highlighted the need to onboard 250 million feature phone subscribers for protection against cyber fraud. “We need a policy to extend services like Sanchar Saathi to them. There may be a fashionable app, but it is not reaching these 250 million citizens. That gap needs to be addressed,” he said.

Mr. Tiwathia stressed that since fraudsters were employing top talent, governments and law enforcement agencies must outsmart them. He suggested exploring the possibility of involving start-ups with informed youngsters who understand the ecosystem, either as outsourced entities or through other mechanisms, with appropriate budgetary support.

He called for a clear-headed policy framework that brings together all stakeholders to address cyber financial fraud, including “digital arrest.” He pointed out that such frauds were predominantly happening through video calls on OTT platforms. “In policy terms, we do not yet have a regulatory mechanism to curb this type of fraud. We need to work on one,” he said.

Mr. Tiwathia also noted the increasing incidents of theft of radio equipment from towers, which are being exported. He emphasised the need to collaborate with agencies such as Customs to curb such mobile equipment theft.