New Delhi:  The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has expressed concern over an FIR filed by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) against the newspaper The Tribune for running an article that allegedly exposed a data breach of the Aadhaar project.

In a press statement, the INS President Akila Urankar condemned UIDAI’s action “to have The Tribune reporter booked by the Police as it is clearly meant to browbeat a journalist whose investigation on the matter was of great public interest.” She added that the action is “unfair, unjustified and a direct attack on the freedom of the press.”

Instead of penalising the reporter, UIDAI should have ordered a thorough internal investigation into the alleged breach and made its findings public, said the statement.

The Tribune reported that an administrator login ID and password to gain access to the UIDAI portal could be acquired for Rs. 500, which would provide access to demographic details of Aadhaar holders simply by keying in ID numbers.

UIDAI had defended the system’s security protocols and rejected the report about the ease with which the system can be infiltrated and demographic data accessed.

The reporter has been booked under IPC Sections 419 (punishment for cheating under impersonation), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), 471 (using a forged document) and also under Sections of the IT Act and the Aadhaar Act.