Huduma Number is a project bound to fail – Cyber Security expert

Anand Venkatanatayanan a specialist in cybersecurity and computer fraud forensic analysis on Wednesday claimed that there was no guarantee that the system used for Huduma Number registration was going to work.

Testifying before justices Pauline Nyamweya, Weldon Korir, and Mumbi Ngugi at the High Court, the expert said that vulnerabilities in the project would only end up providing avenues to hackers costing the government millions.

"It is axiomatic in computer security that nothing is truly secure and there are only costs and benefits of hoarding data. Centralized databases such as Aadhar and NIIMS, however, hoard so much data that the cost-benefit ratios tilt definitely in the favor of the attackers," he intimated.

Anand added that by using the National Integrated Identity System (NIIMS) Kenyans have no guarantee that their data, including personal contact details, would be secure.

He further stated that NIIMS has an old fashioned design compared to the modern-day system architectures hence does not fit into current times.

"NIIMS is an archaic design compared to modern-day system architectures and can be thought of a horse-bungee drawn by a lame horse on the digital highway. That it would fail and would fall behind is the foregone conclusion,” he testified.

President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the NIIMS system in April 2019 and assured Kenyans of the safety of their information.