Cross Match Technologies, a US-based company that offers biometric products and services to a range of customers including India's Aadhaar[1] authority (UIDAI[2]), told Gadgets 360 that it has not captured, or stored, or processed any personal private information of its customers. The clarification comes days after WikiLeaks reported that US federal agency CIA had the capability to hijack Cross Match's software and use it to spy on Cross Match clients, theoretically giving it access to biometric data of over 1 billion Indians, if UIDAI were to be one of the organisations targeted. But Cross Match has clarified that its software does not have such capabilities.
John Hinmon, vice president of global marketing at Cross Match Technologies[3], told Gadgets 360 that the US-based company takes personal privacy very seriously. He added that Cross Match "does not capture, store or process in any manner personal private information, such as fingerprint images, collected by any of its customers," adding that the company doesn't have the "technical ability" to "covertly 'remote into' databases and systems that do store such personal data, nor have we ever been involved in developing or supporting such capability for any government or private entity."
"Crossmatch’s fingerprint scanners and software allow end users to capture, store and process those images in their own systems, under security protocols defined by that end user. Typically, these systems are accessible only by trusted 'administrative users.' To be clear, this is the case with India UID. All software utilised with our scanners was developed, tested and certified under the direction of India UID," Hinmon told Gadgets 360. "We value our partnership with India to support the historic and progressive Aadhaar program that widens social and economic inclusion and channels welfare payments more...