• There are fears Huduma Namba servers were among those hacked in June
• Government spokesman Cyrus Oguna denies the claims, says data is safe
Image: DPPS
Murmurs of discontent are spreading over delays by the state to issue Kenyans with Huduma Namba cards three months after the end of registration.
Fears abound the Huduma Namba servers were among those hacked in June.
The government is yet to update the nation on when the cards will be issued after the much-hyped registration.
Unconfirmed reports say Huduma servers were the target of the government websites attack on June 3, but government spokesman Cyrus Oguna yesterday said the data is safe .
“The government is still developing Huduma cards and it will give them out. You can't hack the Huduma system. Kenyans should not be worried since their data are in safe hands,” he told the Star on phone.
The Ministry of Interior says cards will only be issued after thorough verification.
“ The second step is the verification of the data which will take place after conclusion of the mass registration exercise. After successful verification of the data then a Huduma Namba will be issued. However all those registered will receive an acknowledgement slip to signify that their data has been captured,” the Interior website says.
Among the government servers hacked by W4r10k – a Kurdish group - were the National Youth Service, Department of Petroleum, Refugees Affairs Secretariat at Immigration, the Kenya Meat Commission and the Lake Basin Development Authority.
Others were the Integrated Financial Management Information System, National Environment Trust Fund, Department of Planning and the National Development Implementation Technical Committee.
Before the Ministry of ICT restored the websites, the hacker left a series of incomprehensible messages.
The government says it has been securely saving persons data for many decades. Development of the NIIMS took into account international best practice in the collection, transmission and storage of all data. The data will only accessible by authorized officers and government agencies for official use only.
The mass registration of persons across the country started on March 18 and was to initially end on May 17 but President Uhuru Kenyatta extended the exercise to the May 25.
The diaspora mass registration exercise started on May 6 at all of Kenya's missions and ended June 20.
Oguna said the National Integrated Identity Management System - Huduma Namba - which cost the taxpayer close to Sh8 billion netted 38 million Kenyans who were within the country at that time and 96,574 in diaspora.
“We will start phase two of issuing Huduma Numba after the census since we will be using the same equipment and structures for the census,” he said.
He called on Kenyans to present their views on the proposed controversial Huduma Numba Bill, which has been described as an affront to constitutional liberties.
The Bill sponsored by the Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i proposes that Kenyans who will not have been registered will not access government services including enrolling in a public educational facility, electricity connection, registering a marriage , sell or buying land as well as operating a bank account.
The proposed law imposes heavy penalties on those convicted of conducting any of these activities without the number.