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Elliot Alderson, the French security researcher who is giving BJP & Congress a tough time

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In earlier interviews, Alderson has explained his interest in Aadhaar was because he believed that as a project that handled personal data of 1.2 billion people it must have a very high level of security.
In earlier interviews, Alderson has explained his interest in Aadhaar was because he believed that as a project that handled personal data of 1.2 billion people it must have a very high level of security.

An anonymous ‘French security researcher’ who goes by the name of Elliot Alderson on Twitter has captured the headlines after he flagged security concerns on ‘NaMo app’ and INC app.

He asked why the two apps sent user data to third parties outside the country. It led to the Congress deleting its app and the BJP ‘clarifying’ on its privacy policy on Sunday.

And when Rahul Gandhi tweeted “Modi’s NaMo App secretly records audio, video, contacts of your friends & family and even tracks your location via GPS”, he responded, “I’m taking this as a challenge. There is no secret on Android and if it is true, it can be proved.”

Later on Monday, he commended the work done by another cybersecurity researcher, Zack Whittaker, in ‘exposing security problems’ in Aadhaar.

Alderson, identified as Baptiste Robert in some reports, has exposed several serious security flaws in mobile apps, smartphones, and other internet services over the year. His exposes have been diverse, from how the website of the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj released data of beneficiaries without consent to how a university exhibited details about its applicants during the preadmission process.

The activist had hacked into the Aadhaar app within a minute and reportedly gained access to 22,000 Aadhaar card details. While UIDAI held Alderson’s revelations and the subsequent media reports as “irresponsible” and “far from the truth”, Alderson said UIDAI instead of misinforming public should discuss ways to fix the problems.

In the last one year, he has exposed loopholes in Aadhaar and several government welfare schemes based on biometric data. He has also attacked companies such as Facebook, Oneplus, Xiaomi, Paypal, and MakeMyTrip, among others for misusing user information. In some stories, he has been identified as a French security expert who is a network and telecommunications engineer by profession.

It is believed he came into prominence last year after pointing out serious security loopholes in the website of France’s largest fundamental science agency, CNRS. In past interviews, he has claimed that to have no ulterior motive behind his revelations other than highlighting serious security vulnerabilities so that they can be addressed. He has also said in interviews that he was aware that governments are capable of tracking him down.

Alderson openly communicates with the concerned organisations on Twitter, and often publicly posts ‘direct message’ to them. He did the same on the Narendra Modi app when he showed his users screenshots of replies of officials who run the app to his allegations. He had said that the government using user data without consent was a violation of General Data Protection Regulation.

In earlier interviews, Alderson has explained his interest in Aadhaar was because he believed that as a project that handled personal data of 1.2 billion people it must have a very high level of security.

It is believed that the handle ‘Elliot Alderson’ was chosen because it is the name of a vigilante hacker character in the television series ‘Mr Robot’ who took on ruling classes with his hacking skills.

Elliot Alderson, the French security researcher who is giving BJP & Congress a tough time



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