THE Government must conduct a transparent and thorough investigation into the alleged listing of a national registration department (JPN) dataset containing the personal data of over 22 million Malaysians on an online forum, says a DAP man. 

Tech website Soyacincau.com yesterday reported that a JPN dataset which covers the entire adult population in Malaysia who are born between 1940 and 2004 was on sale for US$10,000 (RM43,870) at a database marketplace forum. 

The records contain not just the full name, but also their identity cards (IC), mobile number, full address, gender, race, religion and the photo in the IC. 

The seller also claimed that the personal data including the names, IC numbers, addresses and photographs with data from the Election Commission (EC) website are allegedly up for sale. 

“The Government should not take such allegations lightly as they involve the public’s confidence in the security of personal data stored in the databases of statutory bodies, departments and government agencies,” said DAP National Social Media Bureau chairman Syahredzan Johan. 

“If it is true that there was a leak of personal data from the databases of departments and public bodies, it is a serious security breach and exposes the public to various risks, including fraud and identity theft and this also affects national security.” 

Syahredzan, who is also political secretary to DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang, also said that this also raises the issue of data security and integrity of information stored in databases operated by public entities such as JPN and the EC. 

“The authorities must conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into whether there is indeed a data leakage going on here,” he said. 

Recall that in September 2021 a JPN database containing the personal information of four million Malaysians was claimed to have been on sale at a database marketplace forum with the database also reportedly containing information from the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) website. 

In denying the report, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin had insisted that there were no data leakage from its personal database and that the firewall of the data security control system was very secure and all information is protected. – May 18, 2022

https://focusmalaysia.my/probe-alleged-listing-of-jpn-dataset-for-sale-says-dap-man/