SAPS Shut Down Until Further Notice Due to Security Concerns Amid Alleged Attack

Over the weekend, our newly minted Minister of Education, Dr. Maszlee Malik released on official statement explaining that the hugely popular Sistem Analisis Peperiksaan Sekolah (SAPS) would be shut down temporarily due to an alleged attack on the system. 

This was mainly done to investigate the validity of these claims, as well as asses the system and its security. No further explanation was given regarding the supposed breach. SAPS, the online system which allows parents to check on the grades of their children online by keying in their details, was introduced in 2011. 

If an attack was carried out successfully, data of around 4.9 million students, as well as MyKad details of parents could have been compromised. An article carried by the Star claims that an anonymous e-mail was sent to multiple outlets, outlining the issue at hand and pointing out that the SAPS website was vulnerable to an SQL injection, a technique that would enable a hacker to retrieve student data. Passwords were also said to have been stored in plain text. Most ominous of all however, was an attachment that was in aforementioned e-mail that contained multiple text files which looked like student records.  

However, with details scarce, it would be amiss to jump to conclusions until  the system and any faults it may or may not possess are fully diagnosed. Here's hoping the MOE can swiftly rectify said matter. Did you use SAPS?