The state government of Sarawak has reportedly issued instructions to folks living in the state, telling them to hold off on registering themselves with the Pangkalan Data Utama (PADU), or the Central Database hub. The state issued the order to the respective Resident’s offices throughout the state. Specifically, it was sent out to leaders and tribal leaders living in areas outside city hubs, as well as the Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK).
Sources close to Utusan Sarawak told the outlet that the order was issued out of fear for personal data security and privacy issues, and understandably so. Back in February, the hacker collective known as R00TK1T claimed to have breached the databases of not just PADU, but the LPPKN too, making off with what it further claimed to be 27TB worth of personal data. It is a claim that Rafizi Ramli, our Minister of Economy, is denying happened, saying that no such critical security breach has occurred on the hub since it launched at the start of the year.
It also doesn’t bode well for our government that, since its launch, only 17% of the population have registered on PADU. That’s approximately slightly more than 5.22 million people out of the country’s more than 30 million citizens, and we have until 31 March to register for it.
(Source: Facebook)
