UIDAI rolls out new security feature for fingerprint based Aadhaar authentication

In a bid to ensure faster detection of spoofing attempts, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has successfully rolled out a new security mechanism for Aadhaar based fingerprint authentication. The artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) based security mechanism has been developed in-house.

As per a PIB report, it is now using a combination of both finger minutiae and finger image to check the liveness of the finger print captured. This is making Aadhaar authentication transactions even more robust and secure.

“The new two factor/layer authentication is adding add-on checks to validate the genuineness (liveness) of the fingerprint so as to further cut down the chances of spoofing attempts,” the PIB report added.

The new feature will be helpful for various sectors including banking and financials, telecom and government. It will also benefit bottom of the pyramid as it will further strengthen the Aadhaar enabled payment system and curb malicious attempts by unscrupulous elements.

It is pertinent to mention here that the cumulative number of Aadhaar authentication transactions had crossed 88.29 billion and clocking an average per day transactions of 70 million by the end of December 2022. A majority of them are fingerprint-based authentications, indicative of its usage and utility in daily lives.