Explain Pikas data leak, Ong tells Miti

 

Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming says Miti must explain the steps it is taking to safeguard the security of other data under the ministry.

PETALING JAYA: DAP’s Ong Kian Ming has urged the international trade and industry ministry (Miti) to explain the data leak involving records from Miti’s public-private partnership Covid-19 industrial vaccination programme (Pikas).

The Bangi MP said Miti must explain how the leak occurred as well as the steps it was taking to safeguard the security of other data under the ministry.

In a statement, Ong said Miti should also contact the companies whose employee data was involved in the leak so that the workers can be on alert should their data be used by others.

“As one of the frontline ministries in dealing with industries and companies, many of which operate at the international level, Miti must be transparent and present a public explanation on the matter so it can continue to command stakeholders’ confidence,” he said.

On Wednesday, cybersecurity expert Suresh Ramasamy revealed that the leak involved more than a million records of employees’ personal data, though CyberSecurity Malaysia said the issue was resolved.

But Ong, a former deputy minister at Miti, pointed out that this was not the first time Suresh had exposed weaknesses in the ministry’s website.

He said Suresh previously criticised some of the weaknesses of Miti’s Covid-19 Intelligent Management System (CIMS), the web portal firms used to obtain approval letters to continue operating during the lockdowns.

“Miti must clarify whether the IT security flaw was due to an error made by the IT department at the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii), an agency under Miti in charge of developing and maintaining the CIMS.

“Miti must also explain whether these IT breaches, possibly involving MARii, are due to the lack of leadership at this agency,” said Ong. - FMT