Slipper shocker at high-tech server chamber

(The Star) – The state treasury’s server room, equipped with high-tech features to prevent theft, was not that secure after all.

A pair of slippers was being used as a door-stopper despite the fact that the room was fitted with a biometric thumb print reader!

Auditors made the discovery during a visit to the server room in Dec 2008.

According to the Auditor-General’s 2008 report, backed with a picture of the slipper at the door, all the other necessary features such as fire extinguishers, backup data in the server, equipment for uninterrupted power supply, anti-virus software and firewalls were available.

The report stated that the biometric entry system for the server room was not fully enforced.

This was among the problems identified when auditing the management of the state’s standard computerised accounting systems applications, known as SPEKS.

The report also revealed that overall, the SPEKS system was not up to mark and had not achieved its objective.

On the security management for SPEKS, the report showed this was also not satisfactory as users did not regularly update their passwords which could lead to hacking of the system.

SPEKS was developed at a cost of RM59.07mil to realise the Federal Govern-ment’s need for a uniform computerised accounting system in all 11 states in the peninsula.

The project development cost for Johor alone was RM6.22mil.

The development of the system covers 11 modules, which connects the state treasury with all relevant agencies.