Chief Statistician: No breach despite deceptive screencaps

PETALING JAYA: There were no security breaches involving the Central Database Hub (Padu), says Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin in slamming the “culprits” whom he says had misled the public.

“They took a screenshot and edited it to make it look like the breach involved Padu.

“In such scenarios, the ‘scam’ had nothing to do with Padu. It was only made to seem that way,” he said when contacted.

Mohd Uzir acknowledged that there had been a lot of sentiments about the security of Padu.

But he said there had been no data leaks, adding that checks had shown that the reported breach of security data cases involved phone users who had failed to protect themselves from scammers.

These included phone users who clicked on suspicious links, thus failing to protect their devices, he added.

“That’s when scammers steal their information. And sometimes, it’s the person’s device itself that is not secure.

“So, this has nothing to do with Padu. We advise the public to ensure the security of their own devices. Don’t make it easy for scammers by clicking on random links sent to you,” he added.

Padu was developed by civil servants from three agencies – the Statistics Department, Economy Ministry and the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu) – in collaboration with other agencies.

“We were given the responsibility and the department accepted it based on our capability and expertise, which is why we were confident of delivering it,” Mohd Uzir said.

“Take a look at the census we made involving housing areas. It only took us a few weeks to get it all done,” he added.

Deputy Economy Minister Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib told the Dewan Negara yesterday that the integrity of officers with data access is evaluated through a security vetting process by the Chief Government Security Officer.

This was to protect the safety of Padu and prevent data leaks, she said.

She said access to data in the system is only allowed for appointed officers and limited to their respective roles.

This regulation is part of the standard operating procedure for managing Padu, she added.

“An independent group of experts consisting of academics and professionals with expertise in various fields has also been appointed to play a check-and-balance role in ensuring the effectiveness of Padu’s system security,” she said, according to Bernama.

Hanifah also said the government would move towards implementing phase two of Padu, which involves determining target groups and targeted subsidy mechanisms after the updating period ends on March 31.