What is DigiLocker and does it keep your data and documents safe?
- The DigiLocker platform, launched in 2015, operates as an app to store users’ digital records.
- The app is part of the Indian government’s paper-free initiative letting users access, verify, and store essential documents in a digital wallet so that they are easy to retrieve and present to officials when required.
- The app has over 270 million registered users, while nearly 6.7 billion documents like Aadhaar, insurance policy papers, PAN records, and driving licenses have been retrieved through it.
- The issued documents in DigiLocker system are deemed at par with original physical documents as per Rule 9A of the Information Technology Rules, 2016
How secure is DigiLocker
- DigiLocker is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) under the Digital India programme..
- According to DigiLocker’s website, it has standard security measures in place like:
- SSL encryption, multi-factor authentication (OTP verification), consent systems, timed log outs, and security audits.
- However, any government database that stores citizens’ information and documents is inevitably an attractive target for hackers who steal user data and sell it on the dark web.
- In 2020, DigiLocker posted a notice about a “potential vulnerability in the sign-up flow,” that could have led to accounts being compromised.
- However, due to a CERT-In alert, DigiLocker said that the vulnerability was patched within a day of getting the alert, and that user data was safe.
- Google stated, no DigiLocker data is shared with third parties Apps and data is encrypted in transit.
Issues with DigiLocker:
- People who are not used to operating smartphones or those who find it difficult to navigate apps may struggle to download DigiLocker, without assistance.
- Another hurdle is that people with multiple names, aliases, inconsistent spellings, or even slightly mismatched certificates may not be able to smoothly fetch their documents via DigiLocker.
- Furthermore, there is no uniformity in how different government authorities and law enforcement bodies in India review official documents.
- While some insist on being shown virtual documents through DigiLocker, others claim the original hard copies are mandatory.