Verity journal

Question to the Netizens: Are you under the impression that big corporations and organizations have very secured and sophisticated systems to safe keep its information? The answer would be yes. Here’s another question: Is that the reality we are living in?

The answer would be ‘probably not’.

In the month of January, Malaysians were hit by the unsettling news reported by Tech Portal Low Yat that was tipped off by an anonymous source known as ‘AA’ who claimed to be the source of the leak that the data of over a million of UiTM students from the year 2000 to 2018 were compromised, and that the breach affected students of all the UiTM campuses including students that are enrolled into UiTM accredited courses in external universities.

These leaked data included personal details such as student names, MyKad numbers, house and email addresses, mobile numbers as well as their campus codes, campus names, their student IDs, programme codes, and course levels. However, UiTM Vice Chancellor stated that their system were still intact and that the screenshots of the leaked data had been manipulated as it did not match UiTM’s internal formatting system.

What’s more concerning is the fact that these breaches had occurred between February and March 2018, yet was only made known in 2019. AA stated that UiTM failed to implement basic security measure for its online systems and described it as a “security nightmare” which could easily be bypassed by anyone with basic JavaScript knowledge and demanded that UiTM implement Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) security certificates on the seven portals linked to the university to improve their websites.

In this day and age, with just your full name and mobile number, malicious individuals could use it to commit heinous crimes, scams or even threaten money off you because they have leverage over you. What more to say if they have your MyKad number and home address?

It’d be disastrous.

There is no use in crying over spilt milk so do not wait for a breach of data to happen when it is preventable. Do a self-check to monitor your credentials should it be used anywhere unfamiliar, as well as your credit activities. A self-check can help raise red-flags more effectively as you can enlist the help of professionals and minimise your risks.

For more information on how to safeguard yourself or your organization, visit www.verityintel.com.