KUALA LUMPUR (March 26): Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli reassured that all data on the central database hub (Padu) is encrypted to protect it from unauthorised access.

With encryption in place, Rafizi said, even if hackers manage to steal data from Padu, they would still need to go through the decryption process.

"Unless hackers possess a supercomputer capable of decrypting the data, all information in Padu remains gibberish due to encryption," Rafizi told Parliament during the question and answer session on Tuesday.

Padu, launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Jan 2, aims to enhance distribution of resources, especially government subsidies and assistance to deserving individuals.

The government has set a deadline for Malaysians to register and update their details on Padu on March 31, with no plans to extend this deadline.

Concerns over data security and privacy have been raised by leaders from Sabah and Sarawak, prompting the Sarawak government to halt the registration process in the state, pending improvements to its implementation.

In response, Rafizi reiterated that the Padu system strictly adheres to international standards such as OWASP Top Ten and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

He also said the system successfully withstood approximately two million cyberattacks per day during the first month after its launch, with no data breaches.

"Based on the cyberattacks we recorded, many originated from abroad, which is why we decided to implement geo-fencing," Rafizi added.