Bill Gates Demands Governments Mandate His ‘Global Digital ID’: Praising India’s System as a Model
In a recent development, Bill Gates has been advocating for governments around the world to implement his ‘Global Digital ID’ system. This push comes as Gates praises India’s sweeping digital ID system as a model for other nations to follow. The Gates Foundation has been actively promoting the use of digital IDs, particularly through the concept of the ‘Digital Public Identity’ (DPI), a buzzword pushed by the UN that encourages the rollout of digital ID systems on a global scale.
Ref: https://www.transcend.org/tms/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/bill-gates-wef.webp
In India, citizens must now provide a digital identity to gain access to online services, receive medical care, interact with their bank accounts, or pursue higher education.
Since there are a lot of restrictions for people who don’t comply, the nation has rapidly embraced the technology. Gates claims this is a sign of “great success.”
Indian citizens that don’t link account numbers to Digital ID will soon face financial blacklisting
Ref: https://reclaimthenet.org/india-digital-id-account-link
Gates claims he is “changing the world” through his digital ID and is now pushing for governments worldwide to require his digital identification system to make it universal.
On February 26, 2024, Gates shared on his blog that he is going to India. He mentioned that his digital ID system has been “saving millions of lives” in the country.
Ref: https://www.gatesnotes.com/India-is-changing-the-world-with-innovation
His trip to India was also to look in on another project that means a lot to Gates – vaccines.
One of Gates’ main interests is vaccines, and he has been experimenting with different types on people in India recently.
When it comes to DPI, Gates mentioned that he really admires how the country is committed to advancing the big biometric identity program known as Aadhaar.
Gates has expressed his excitement over India’s implementation of a far-reaching digital ID system that prevents citizens from being part of society if they refuse to adopt the technology.
India has made significant strides in implementing a comprehensive digital ID system known as the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). This system, also known as Aadhaar, assigns a unique 12-digit identification number to each Indian resident based on their biometric and demographic data.
Gates revealed that his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is funding several Aadhaar-like projects for the World Bank and that Nilekani was helping the organisation. “We have funded the World Bank to take this Aadhaar approach to other countries,” he said.
Gates talked about how impressed he is with India’s commitment to the large biometric identity program called Aadhaar. He highlighted that Indians have completed more than 94 billion transactions using Aadhaar.
Bill Gates has another big interest, and that’s agriculture! He mentioned that he plans to check out a monitoring center where agriculture connects with Aadhaar. He also shared some impressive stats: the government uses a center in Odisha that keeps track of 7.5 million farmers to provide them with “real-time guidance,” according to Gates.
The Role of Aadhaar in PM Kisan: Aadhaar, which stands for Unique Identification Number (UID), is a card that is issued only to Indian citizens. Anyone can apply for it, no matter their age, caste, or gender, as long as they provide the right documents. After it was launched, linking Aadhaar became a requirement for many services, such as purchasing mobile SIM cards, getting ration cards, applying for PAN cards, opening bank accounts, and receiving LPG subsidies, among other things.
Ref: https://pmkisan.net.in/#google_vignette
It seems like a perfect plan for a surveillance state, especially with the right tools in place. Gates mentioned that officials can monitor what crops people are growing, but he claims this is just to help farmers with some “advice.”
It’s almost a common practice that projects like DPI are tested in developing countries, usually managed by big financial organizations like the World Bank. Gates points out that the World Bank is keeping an eye on how DPI is being put into action in places like Odisha, Ethiopia, and Sri Lanka, likely so they can copy the approach in those areas.
On November 8th, 2023, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) announced a new campaign named “50-in-5.” This initiative is designed to assist 50 countries in creating, starting, and expanding parts of their digital public infrastructure. The Gates Foundation is partnering in this project, which aims to ensure that the introduction of digital public infrastructure is safe, inclusive, and works well across different systems in these countries.
The Gates Foundation Pushes For Digital ID Systems, Despite Criticism
Gates is now looking for the governments of big Western countries, like the United States, to require digital IDs for everyone.
Bill Gates is always promoting his digital ID technology, saying it can fix a bunch of issues he believes are threatening society. But that’s not really the case. It looks like he’s trying to use digital IDs to hide the truth and take control of our finances and privacy.
The Gates Foundation and the Push for Digital IDs: What Projects Are They Backing?
1. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: Gavi, a public-private global health partnership, has received significant funding from the Gates Foundation. A key component of Gavi’s work involves improving immunization coverage, and digital ID systems are often seen as a way to track vaccinations and ensure that individuals receive the necessary doses. While not explicitly a digital ID project, the infrastructure and data management systems developed through Gavi’s efforts can be leveraged for digital ID purposes.
2. MOSIP (Modular Open Source Identity Platform): This open-source platform provides a framework for countries to develop their own national digital identification systems. MOSIP aims to lower the cost and complexity of implementing digital IDs, making them more accessible to developing nations. The Gates Foundation has been a prominent supporter of MOSIP, providing funding and technical assistance for its development and deployment.
3. The ID2020 Alliance: This global alliance, which also receives funding from the Gates Foundation, focuses on promoting digital identification as a means to achieve various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The ID2020 Alliance brings together governments, NGOs, and businesses to develop and implement digital ID solutions in areas such as healthcare, financial inclusion, and refugee assistance.
4. Investing in Specific Country Initiatives: The Gates Foundation often supports specific country-level digital ID projects tailored to the unique needs and challenges of that nation. These projects may focus on improving access to healthcare, education, or financial services for underserved populations. Examples include initiatives in countries like India and Nigeria.
Beyond Specific Projects: A Broader Focus on Digital Inclusion
While the projects listed above highlight some specific avenues for Gates Foundation involvement, it’s important to recognize that their interest in digital ID is often intertwined with a broader agenda of digital inclusion. The Foundation believes that digital technologies, including digital IDs, can play a crucial role in:
- Financial Inclusion
- Education
- Healthcare Access
- Financial Inclusion: Enabling access to banking and financial services for those who are currently unbanked.
- Healthcare Access: Patient identification, tracking medical records, and facilitating access to healthcare services.
Public criticised CEPI for the lack of transparency
CEPI was conceived in 2015 and formally launched in 2017 at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. It was co-founded and co-funded with US$460 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the governments of India and Norway, and was later joined by the European Union (2019) and the United Kingdom (2020).CEPI is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.
Together, Bill Gates and Adar Poonawalla are partners in their work.
CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Biological E Limited, India (Bio E), a Hyderabad-based vaccines and pharmaceutical company.
CEPI is all about the World Health Organization (WHO), but most countries don’t have faith in this organization because they believe it has caused a fake pandemics and that there have been many vaccine-related injuries such as heart attacks and GBS.
Adar Poonawala led-Serum Institute of India (SII) is gearing up to include its newly launched HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine targeted towards cervical cancer in India’s Universal Immunization Program (UIP) later this year. The vaccine, developed over eight years, is also set to be exported to global markets starting in 2026-27.
“This is another very important, critical vaccine that we worked on for about eight years. We finally got it licensed, and we’re going to give it to the govt’s Universal Immunization Program later this year, followed by exporting it to other countries in 2026-27,” said CEO Poonawalla, during a recent interview with Moneycontrol at World Economic Forum (WEF) 2020 in Davos.
The institute is also working on vaccines for mosquito-borne diseases such as chikungunya, dengue, and malaria, with some already launched while others set to launch within the next two years.
“With climate change and construction activities in many developing countries, mosquito-borne viruses like yellow fever are spreading. We’re working towards tackling these issues,” Poonawalla added.
Ref: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/serum-s-hpv-vaccine-to-join-govt-s-immunisation-program-later-this-year-exports-in-2026-27-ceo-12917237.html
CEPI-The Bio E COVID-19 vaccine candidate
About CEPI’s COVID-19 vaccine programmes, 29th December 2020:
Built on the principles of speed, scale and equitable access, CEPI is supporting the research and development of a diverse portfolio of vaccine candidates based on a range of vaccine approaches. Including Bio E, CEPI has invested in 11 vaccine candidates, nine of which are still in development, and seven of which are in clinical trials.
CEPI has raised US$1.3bn in support of COVID-19 vaccine research and development, but urgently needs $800m in additional funds to achieve its aim of developing three safe and effective vaccines which can be made globally available through COVAX. These funds are vital for CEPI to progress the most promising vaccine candidates in the portfolio through crucial late-stage clinical trials to prove their safety and efficacy, and ultimately to licensure.
Bio E’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate is based on classical vaccine technology of a protein antigen, SARS-CoV-2 Spike RBD, adsorbed to the adjuvant Alhydrogel (Alum), in combination with another approved adjuvant, CpG 1018. The RBD of S1 subunit binds to the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor on host cell membrane and facilitates virus entry.
RBD protein is expressed in yeast Pichia pastoris, and is similar to technology Bio E is employing for large-scale commercial production of Hep B vaccines. The Baylor College of Medicine construct “RBD N1C1” was selected as the final vaccine antigen candidate on the basis of its manufacturability, due to the yields of protein antigen achieved, ease of process steps and favourable formulation aspects.
- Education: Streamlining student enrollment, tracking academic progress, and facilitating access to online learning resources.
Indian DigiLocker Flaw Let Hackers AccessOver 3.8 Crore Accounts Without Password
DigiLocker is a digital online store where the government allows us to hold data and files digitally. But, recently, a security expert has discovered a new vulnerability in DigiLocker that has compromised over 3.8 crore accounts.
It is an authentication flaw that has put the core of users’ data at risk. Initially, this issue was first identified by a security researcher Ashish Ghalot on may 2020 and survived in the sign-in method of the service.
Ashish Ghalot’s Backstory : https://medium.com/@Volatile_Life/how-i-got-access-to-38m-digilocker-accounts-a11d7aa770f7
This kind of vulnerability helps the hackers to evade two-factor authentication and get access to some delicate private information of the users, but now the flaw has been already determined and fixed.
Well, Ashish Ghalot had found the flaw in the DigiLocker when he was analyzing the authentication mechanism. Moreover, he also stated that he obtained the default mechanism, which asks for a one-time password that is (OTP) and a PIN to log in to the digital storage.
After getting the OTP, he was capable of circumventing the authentication mechanism after putting an Aadhaar number and preventing the link to DigiLocker, simply modify the parameters.
Including over 38 million enrolled users, DigiLocker is a cloud-based locker that serves as a digital platform to help in several online processing of records and faster performance of different government-to-citizen assistance. More importantly, DigiLocker is connected to a user’s mobile number and Aadhar ID (a unique identity number (UID) assigned to every citizen of India).
Apart from Ashish Ghalot, other security experts have also investigated this vulnerability of DigiLocker, and they also found the main reason behind this flaw and will clarify everything soon.
Clarification about Reported Vulnerability on DigiLocker👇 pic.twitter.com/hEz19QJDsj
— DigiLocker (@digilocker_ind) June 2, 2020
Findings
On May 10, the security researcher, Ashish Ghalot, summarized all his findings to CERT-IN, and the issue was determined on May 28. Here are, the detailed analysis that are discovered by the Ashish Ghalot in this event:-
- OTP bypass due to lack of authorization – Marked as Critical
- Secret PIN Bypass/takeover – Marked as Critical
- Poor session mechanism in APIs – Marked as High
- Weak SSL pinning mechanism in the mobile app – Marked as Medium
1. OTP bypass due to lack of authorization
The first finding is the OTP bypass due to lack of authorization, and the lack of authorization makes the situation more comfortable for the attacker. And it becomes easy to implement OTP validation by presenting any valid users’ details and then manipulation flow to log in as a completely distinct user.
2. Secret PIN Bypass/takeover
Next, we have the secret PIN Bypass/takeover, well it’s one of the flaws, which is also marked as critical findings. As any API/URL pin easily help the hackers to reset an utterly new pin of any users without any authentication. In short, it’s one of the easiest ways to compromise the user data, and that’s the reason for which it was marked s critical.
3. Poor session mechanism in APIs
After that, we have the ‘poor session mechanism in APIs,’ it’s one of the findings that was marked as high. And in this finding, you will perceive that API calls from mobile were utilizing primary authentication to retrieve any data or do any sought of transactions.
More importantly, all the calls get encrypted, which implies that every user has to present their credentials, which is on a basic authentication format that is also encrypted with the algorithm: AES/CBC/PKCS5Padding.
4. Weak SSL pinning mechanism in the mobile app
Lastly, we have the poor SSL pinning mechanism in the mobile app, and in this finding, the app uses the weak SSL pinning, which can be bypass efficiently with devices like Frida and also some acknowledged methods as well.
According to the Digilocker, the essence of the vulnerability was so strong that an individual’s DigiLocker account could probably get arbitrated if the attacker perceived the username for that appropriate account. So, the flaw was covered on preference data, and the technical team started receiving an alert from CERT-IN.
Source: Wikipedia, Cybersecuritynews, Rediff-Image
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