KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 — The Central Database Hub (Padu) system has complied with security features and met international standards, said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.
Despite over two million illegal attempts to access the system daily, all have been thwarted and Padu remains impenetrable.
“I would like to inform (you) that despite records showing attempts exceeding two million accesses daily, especially in the first month, all of them have been thwarted, and the Padu system remains unpenetrated.
“Of course, there are things we need to balance, and we do not allow access from outside the country. Because so far, the records of most access attempts are from outside the country or from locations we consider risky,” he said.
Rafizi was responding to Bandar Tun Razak MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s query in the Dewan Rakyat today, who asked about the mechanism for increasing and expediting the registration of Malaysian citizens with Padu and the steps to control its data from being misused.
Regarding the Padu system’s security, its development team headed by the National Digital Department closely collaborates with various agencies managing national cyber security and data privacy.
This involves the Office of the Chief Government Security Officer, the National Cybersecurity Agency, Cybersecurity Malaysia, the Department of Personal Data Protection, the Communications Ministry, and the Digital Ministry.
“This strategic cooperation ensures we reduce the risk of data leakage and that the privacy protection of Padu data is given high priority. There are three main components involved in focused data security.
“Among them is the data security component involving access control implementation and encryption. I have never mentioned before that; actually, every data registered in Padu is encrypted.
“This means that even if someone manages to break in and download files, those files need to be decrypted,” he said.
Furthermore, as of yesterday, 8,093,336 Malaysians aged 18 and above have already registered, or 36.8 per cent of the total.
“With registration rates ranging from 350,000 to 400,000 per day in the remaining six days, we project that we will achieve a registration rate of close to 50 per cent by March 31,” he said.
Regarding the Padu registration pattern, Rafizi said that so far, states with more rural areas including Kelantan, Sabah, and Sarawak have recorded higher registration rates compared to urban areas.
“If we look at the registration pattern, it is actually somewhat ‘reverse’ from what we expected because states with more rural areas have higher registration … this is partly due to the Department of Statistics and Padu teams themselves deploying flying squads to those areas.
“In urban areas, due to higher IT literacy rates, we hope they have more opportunities to access and register personally,” he said.
At the same time, to prevent the risk of eligible individuals missing out on government assistance, the ministry has acted to match all existing assistance databases like e-Kasih, the Department of Social Welfare, and Rahmah Cash Contribution (STR), with geo-pinned locations at risk of omission.
“Actually, more than 50 per cent of the 4,752 locations at risk of omission are in the Klang Valley. Therefore, the Economy Ministry, the Selangor state government, and the Federal Territories Ministry and myself met with representatives of residents in risky areas to ask for their help in promoting registration,” Rafizi said.
— Bernama
