Vancouver sources reported that there are serious concerns about the collection of biometric data for Aadhaar cards in India and these must be allayed, a former State Department official who is considered an expert on social media and cyber-crime issues has stressed. Jared Cohen told on the sidelines of the third annual BCTECH Summit here.
Meanwhile Cohen is currently the CEO and Founder of Jigsaw, a Google arm started to tackle threats to online security. Moreover he conceded there are arguments on the merits of the Aadhaar system but there are also concerns that must be addressed.
Cohen did not want to comment on the case before the Supreme Court, whose
constitution bench has reserved judgment in the PIL which wants removal of the
mandatory requirement of Aadhaar for enjoying benefits of government services and
for opening of bank accounts and buying telephone services, among others.
Furthermore Cohen was one of the members of policy planning staff of US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He played a role in helping shape counter-radicalization
strategies and advised on US policy towards Iran and the Middle East.
