“Weakest link”: interior ministry names main cause of Kazakh data leaks

Tengrinews.kz – The main cause of large-scale leaks of Kazakhstanis’ personal data lies not in technology but in people, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has said.
Since the beginning of 2025, more than 40 major data breaches have been recorded in Kazakhstan, Deputy Head of the Cybercrime Department Beibit Birzhanov revealed at the KompraConf 2025 conference.

“The weakest link in the system today is, unfortunately, the user — the operator, the person who has access to personal data. Investigations show that employees of private companies sell personal data for a reward,” Birzhanov explained.

His statement confirmed that access to citizens’ personal information is being illegally sold. However, the ministry did not specify who has been held accountable.
Earlier this year, Kazakhstan faced one of its largest breaches, when 16.3 million personal records were exposed online. The leaked data included names, dates of birth, ID numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and even nationality. The Ministry of Digital Development and the Cyberattack Analysis and Investigation Center issued statements, while the Prosecutor General’s Office opened a criminal case.
In July, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said preliminary findings indicated that the leak originated from medical organizations.