The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which is part of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has successfully implemented a new AI/ML security mechanism for Aadhaar-based fingerprint authentication and faster detection of spoofing attempts.
The likelihood of spoofing attempts is further decreased by the new two-factor/layer authentication, which includes additional checks to verify the authenticity (liveness) of the fingerprint.
According to a formal announcement, the old system has been replaced by strong two-factor authentication, which benefits all parties. The in-house created security mechanism now uses a combination of finger minutia and finger image to verify the liveness of the captured fingerprint.
According to UIDAI, the move will be extremely helpful in industries like banking and finance, telecom, and the public sector. It will prevent malicious tries by unscrupulous elements and further strengthen the Aadhaar-enabled payment system.
The rollout and migration occurred after months of discussion and support from UIDAI’s partners and user agencies (AUAs/Sub AUAs). The new fingerprint authentication security system based on Aadhaar is now fully operational.
Regarding the wider adoption of Aadhaar based authentication transactions, Ministry of Electronics & IT cites,
The adoption of Aadhaar based authentication transactions has been witnessing an upward trend as it has proved to be a facilitator in availing several welfare benefits and services.
By the end of December 2022, cumulative number of Aadhaar authentication transactions had crossed 88.29 billion and clocking an average per day transactions of 70 million. A majority of them are fingerprint-based authentications, indicative of its usage and utility in daily lives.