Former Transport Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong has voiced his concern over the current Transport Minister Anthony Loke’s initiative to digitalise the road tax and driving licences’ of motorists in Malaysia, citing serious security issues with the MyJPJ app.
During a debate in Parliament on 15 February, Dr Wee highlighted that the MyJPJ app contains a security vulnerability whereby anyone with a MyKad number can access the personal data of said MyKad holder. This is because when you first open the MyJPJ app and create a new account, you only need to key in your identification number to create a new account. There’s a valid concern here as bad actors that have access to the identification card numbers of Malaysians can then use the MyJPJ app to access the personal data of others such as their driving licence details.
“The Transport Ministry recently launched the Motor Vehicle Licence (e-LKM) and digital Malaysian Driving Licence (e-LMM). The data of all the ministers and deputy ministers can be obtained through just one feature with the MyKad number.
It is very dangerous as many MyKad numbers can be obtained through checks with those who had registered as voters,” – Dr Wee Ka Siong
The MyJPJ app by the way was actually launched back in late October of last year, when Dr Wee was the then-caretaker Transport Minister. However, he did mention that he didn’t agree to the rollout of the MyJPJ app when he was in office, citing that he saw the dangers of the app.
That being said, it’s perhaps worth noting that JPJ has since rectified this specific issue in their latest update. Rolling out since 15 February, the latest MyJPJ app now requires you to enter in not just your identification number, but also your driving licence’s security code listed on the back of your physical card. This latest update also solved the issue of users who had already created an account with JPJ being unable to log into the MyJPJ app.
Anthony Loke though has since responded, thanking the former Transport Minister for his criticism and that the Transport Ministry will take it into account. Loke also added that the Transport Ministry will also continue to solidity its digitalisation agenda, and that it will work on improving its weaknesses.
Incidentally, before the Transport Minister had announced that the MyJPJ app was to be used for digital copies of your road tax and driver’s licence, there was apparently a security vulnerability within the MyJPJ app. According to the Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil a few days ago, Cyber Security Malaysia (CSM) had found a security risk in the app—not a major one, but it was still a risk. Nevertheless, it was apparently identified and that the matter was resolved.
