Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia has triggered a fresh debate with his recent claims on Aadhaar’s alleged data security breach. His post on X immediately drew mixed reactions and put spotlight on his earlier concerns about the project’s technical design and costs.
In his post, Bharti stated, “There’s a story doing the rounds that the entire Aadhaar database has been stolen by crypto criminals, with data of 815M people reportedly on sale for $80,000. I can’t confirm if this is true…but it does highlight the risks of designing complex systems without deep technical expertise. Even the WEF Global Risk Report once described an Aadhaar-related incident as the largest data breach in the world.”
There’s a story doing the rounds that the entire Aadhaar database has been stolen by crypto criminals, with data of 815M people reportedly on sale for $80,000. I can’t confirm if this is true… but it does highlight the risks of designing complex systems without deep technical…
— Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) November 19, 2025
Backlash on Bhatia’s post
His post led to a flood of responses. One user criticised the claim and questioned his intentions, writing, “Are you doing this to please your boss? Or for mileage? No one takes you seriously. Unless you have evidence, refrain from writing on public platforms. If you have evidence, part with @PMOIndia. You have no courage to write about US! If you do, you will get a royal kick. So you behave there.”
Bhatia responded with a sharp comment, “This is the kind of asinine thinking that has caused India to become a country run on lies.. and you seem okay with it because you don’t care about the future of your children and grandchildren.”
Another user commented on India’s broader data ecosystem, stating, “Data is cheap and easy in India. Sure, you know that.” A different user warned Bhatia against making unverified claims, saying, “Unless you have solid proof. Don’t gossip about India’s Aadhaar database.”
Bhatia’s earlier views on Aadhaar
The exchange has brought new attention to Bhatia’s earlier criticism of Aadhaar from his February appearance on the podcast “Prakhar ke Pravachan,” where he called the project unnecessarily expensive. In that interview, he argued that the system reported to have cost $1.3 billion, “could have been built for $20 million”. Bhatia questioned the reliance on biometric data, questioning, “Aadhaar took all your biometrics, but where is that being used?”. He further suggested that video and voice authentication could have offered a more efficient, low-cost alternative.
Bhatia’s latest post, while noting that he “can’t confirm” the alleged breach, has once again ignited a public debate on Aadhaar’s design and data safeguards.