Digital Technologies Minister Sherzod Shermatov did not confirm a reported leak of personal data on 27 million citizens but warned that breaches could occur if urgent measures are not taken.
A group of “ethical hackers” called Butterfly had cited the 27 million figure. The group said it did not hack or leak any data and only wanted to show that such action was possible. It accused cybersecurity specialists at Uzbekistan’s state bodies of “inaction” and published Shermatov’s phone number, the source said.
“The fact that the leak has not spread further does not guarantee that something similar won’t happen tomorrow if urgent measures are not taken!” the minister said.
Shermatov said artificial intelligence has sharply increased the detection of vulnerabilities in outdated information systems. “All government, non-government and commercial organizations must therefore identify and fix vulnerabilities in their systems continuously and in good time,” he said.
He urged agencies and companies that build and run information systems to set aside extra cybersecurity funding and train specialists. He also advised specialists to follow notices from the State Security Service’s Cybersecurity Center and the UzCERT service and act immediately on new vulnerabilities.
“When investing in the development of artificial intelligence, it is vital to invest accordingly in protection against the threats that come with it,” he said.
Shermatov recalled a recent incident involving the crypto exchange Binance, through which more than $6.3 billion was stolen. He said demand for cybersecurity specialists will keep rising and that universities should focus on the field.
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