April data leak makes rounds again, with EC breach in focus

 

A data leak first reported from April is gaining attention again as the general election campaign enters its second week.

As the Election Commission (EC) prepares for the polls on Nov 19, a section of the leak which involves the EC’s data is now becoming the focus.

The data involving voter information refers to an EC database reportedly containing 800,000 pictures of voters and their MyKad.

The EC collected these photos as part of its MySPR Daftar website launched in 2019.

Voters can register on this website to change their voting address or apply to be postal voters.

To verify their identity, they have to upload a photo of themselves holding up their MyKad.

The database also includes voter phone numbers, with the information offered for just US$2,000 (around RM9,400) on a hacker forum. 

Police and the EC have yet to respond to media requests for comment.

Part of larger breach involving millions

The breach is making rounds again after a tweet about it earlier this week went viral.

Malaysiakini first reported the data breach in May.

At the time, the focus was on millions of records from Putrajaya’s MyIdentity database, which was sold only on a hacker forum for US$10,000.

But part of that data dump was the EC data.

This was the second government database breach within a year, the first being in late last year involving the same MyIdentity database.

Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin denied the breach at the time. - Mkini