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KUALA LUMPUR – The alleged leak involving the personal data of 22.5 million Malaysians is being looked into by intelligence agencies, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
He also assured that the alleged leak does not affect national security as the ministry has mitigation mechanisms in place.
“I think that we are equipped, to the best of our abilities... This sort of threat does not jeopardise national security,” he was quoted as saying by The Star after an event here today.
He added that he already met with the relevant parties to discuss the matter.
Earlier this week, it was reported that a group of hackers have now claimed to have personal details of 22.5 million Malaysians stolen from the National Registration Department (NRD) – less than a year after the MyIdentity data leak.
A website known as Amanz reported that the details leaked are MyKad numbers, names, dates of birth, home addresses, gender, and registered phone numbers belonging to those born between 1940 and 2004.
The hackers are said to be looking to sell the data for US$10,000 (RM43,870) in bitcoin, while it is yet to be ascertained if NRD is aware of the leak.
To entice buyers, the seller posted personal details of Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin along with the sale listing to “prove” the ownership of the 160GB dataset that even contains photographs used in MyKads.
Last September, leaked MyIdentity data was being sold online for 0.2 bitcoin (about RM35,000 then) with the seller alleging that the dataset had four million entries obtained from the MyIdentity API through the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) website.
However, IRB denied it was the source of the leak as it was not the owner of the MyIdentity system, and that an investigation would be carried out with the NRD, National Cyber Security Agency, and National Security Council.
Later, Hamzah said in a statement that his ministry would ensure that personal data held by the NRD was secure. – The Vibes, May 20, 2022
