The Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development has commented on the circulating information about the sale on the darknet of a database containing personal data of Kazakh citizens. The ministry stated that there is as yet no confirmed data about a hack of e-government information systems or about the database having been obtained directly from eGov.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE CHECK
The ministry is aware of publications containing information about an alleged leak of personal data. At present, together with the relevant services, a technical check is being carried out: specialists are analysing the provided data samples and establishing the possible source of their origin.
The ministry also noted that part of the information in the publications does not match the structure and format of eGov data. In particular, scanned copies of passports are not stored in the system in the form claimed, and digital documents have a different format.
DOES THE SELLER'S CLAIM CONFIRM THE HACK
The ministry emphasised that the mere claim by the darknet forum user about the origin of the database cannot be regarded as confirmation of an eGov hack.
The technical check is ongoing. Once it is complete, the ministry promises to provide further information.
WHAT CITIZENS ARE ADVISED TO DO
Against the backdrop of the situation, the ministry recommends observing basic digital security measures: do not share SMS codes, passwords or digital signature data with third parties, do not click on suspicious links, and use different passwords for different services.
CONTEXT
Earlier, a darknet forum user under the username shymzz13 listed for sale a database which, according to his claim, contains the personal data of 15 million residents of Kazakhstan. The seller stated that he obtained the information after hacking the state service eGov.
