CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM) chief executive officer Datuk Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab urged the government to perform regular security audits on the central database system (PADU) due to the emergence of new technologies and the increasing risk of cyber threats.
He said, “The more we are connected, the more we are vulnerable. The current security of a system does not guarantee its future safety in the next five or six months. That is why we need to do security audits regularly to protect the database,” according to Bernama.
He added that CSM would take a strategic role in evaluating the security of PADU, which includes both the database network and the PADU hosts.
He also said that technology has transformed the way users conduct business and provides them with access to new applications, but this also brings risks and cyber security challenges.
University of Malaya Social Wellbeing Research Centre director Prof Datuk Dr Norma Mansor said that PADU has the potential to transform the country; therefore, it is essential to keep the data within it updated to avoid stagnation.
She said that regular updating would improve data integration and prevent information duplication from different departments.
“Our goal is to prevent situations where PADU data still lists deceased individuals who receive assistance. Likewise, we want to avoid cases where multiple entities give wheelchair aid to one person at the same time,” she said.
She also said that the effectiveness of PADU depends on the proactive actions of each programme owner, such as the National Registration Department, the religious department, and the zakat board, to deliver assistance to those who need it.
“Otherwise, PADU only acts as a data storage, and those who need assistance will sadly be ignored,” she said.
