Does your organization collect or store Aadhaar numbers?
Then you are at high risk.
With identity thefts, data breaches, and cyber fraudsters on the rise, businesses are vulnerable to financial and reputational damage. While conducting digital KYCs that involve Aadhaar card verification, the risk of data exposure and misuse of customer/employee information by fraudulent entities is even greater. These privacy concerns and security breaches cost businesses billions in losses.
Thus, it is imperative for organizations to follow strict security protocols for Aadhaar card verification. Complying with the Aadhaar masking mandates of regulators such as UIDAI, RBI, SEBI, and IRDAI, is vital to protect Aadhaar data.
What is Aadhaar masking?
Aadhaar masking is a critical security directive issued by the UIDAI and regulatory bodies to protect Aadhaar data and prevent identity fraud and data scams. According to this mandate, the first 8 digits of your Aadhaar card number must be replaced by asterisks and appear as “XXXX-XXXX”, while the last 4 digits shall remain as it is. Aadhaar card masking serves as an extra layer of protection to conceal and protect sensitive information.
How Aadhaar masking came into prevalence?
According to the Supreme Court of India’s judgment in 2018 on Aadhaar privacy concerns, “No entity, including a requesting entity, which is in possession of the Aadhaar number of an Aadhaar number holder, shall make public any database or record containing the Aadhaar numbers of individuals, unless the Aadhaar numbers have been redacted or blacked out through appropriate means, both in print and electronic form.”
The UIDAI stipulated that no entity could save Aadhaar numbers in their database in any form (physical or virtual). However, the entity can and must mask the first 8 digits before storing any physical or virtual copy of the Aadhaar cards.
Apart from the above regulators, the IRDAI, RBI, SEBI, and The Ministry of Finance also came out with their mandates to cloak the Aadhaar numbers.
Why Aadhaar masking?
Following the regulations and judgments, the regulated entities in India must use only masked Aadhaar numbers in their existing databases and can accept only masked Aadhaar cards going forward. This could be the only way to reduce identity theft while ensuring compliance and data safety.
Organizations that fail to mask Aadhaar cards will face severe consequences in the form of penalties, reputational damage, additional audits, imprisonment, and/or even complete shutdown. Hence, being agile and staying up to date with regulatory requirements is crucial.
How can businesses optimize and automate Aadhaar masking?
Businesses today find it challenging to address the operational aspects of compliance and data handling. Masking large chunks of Aadhaar card data accurately requires immense manpower, time, and cost. There is also a huge dependency on humans and could be prone to errors.
Using a robust Aadhaar masking tool is a great way to optimize the process and drive efficiencies.
Our EDO Suite helps businesses automate the task of Aadhaar masking in no time while ensuring accuracy and zero errors.
What is EDO Suite?
Powered by AI and ML, EDO Suite is an efficient Aadhaar masking tool that intelligently detects and masks Aadhaar data instantly. It enables your organization to be 100% compliant with UIDAI and RBI regulations without any hassles.
EDO suite’s instant masking feature covers up the first 8 digits, revealing only the last 4 instantaneously. It is capable of analyzing and masking only valid Aadhaar numbers from a group of random numbers. To ensure over 98.3% accuracy, the EDO suite employs the Verhoeff algorithm. A checksum formula for error detection, the Verhoeff algorithm is used to eliminate errors in data entry and validate Aadhaar numbers.
EDO can be deployed entirely in-house at a very low cost, with no intervention or reliance on third-party algorithms. Till date, we have processed more than 10 crore Aadhaar numbers in multiple formats.
Key components of EDO
EDO Scan
A smart tool that can scan the entire computer or server and mask all Aadhaar cards to provide detailed scan reports. This is primarily used for ‘Legacy Data Masking’.
EDO Lens
A camera SDK that can be integrated into any customer onboarding mobile solution and the Aadhaar number will be masked in real-time while capturing the document.
EDO Connect
Powerful APIs where an entity can send an Aadhaar image, and EDO Connect will return a masked Aadhaar.
How does EDO work?
EDO provides two primary services.
- Legacy Data Masking
- New Data Masking
Legacy Data Masking
Legacy data is consumer data that companies have already collected in the database since the issuance of the Aadhaar cards in 2010. EDO helps in masking those legacy data in a matter of seconds.
New Data Masking
The new data is the real-time consumer data that is collected and added to the database. New Aadhaar data being added to the database can also be masked before storage.
Aadhaar masking made quick, simple, and convenient
EDO caters to a business’s Aadhaar masking needs with simple, transparent pricing, and best-in-class technology. It is well-suited for both on-premise and cloud model.
Features and Benefits
1. Supports multi-format masking
- First eight digits of the Aadhaar with a red strip and ‘XXXX-XXXX’ in excel sheets
- Multiple Aadhaar numbers on the same page/image
- Aadhaar numbers in different formats/files
- Only Aadhaar numbers in an image with a foreign object. For e.g., an Aadhaar card with a mouse/pen
2. Won’t mask non-Aadhaar numbers
3. Seamless masking with multiple options
- Full Detection – Scans the entire system
- Choose Folder – Scans only a specific folder
- Instant Masking – Masks any single image
- Auto Scan – Sets the time for automatic masking of the entire system or a specific folder
4. Detects and masks the selected files in order to thoroughly analyze dupes, non-Aadhaar numbers, and formats
5. The detection results are made available as downloadable reports
6. Cancels non-Aadhaar data and provides date, scan IDs, time stamps, and status (canceled/completed)
Ready to mask Aadhaar in an instant, the right way?
Connect with our expert team at business@m2pfintech.com.
We’ll be glad to reach out and get you the best-in-class Aadhaar masking solutions right away!
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