Worry as hackers target driving permit company

The Uganda Driver Licensing System (UDLS), the company mandated to issue driving licences, has revealed that fraudsters and hackers have severally attempted to infiltrate its system.

The attacks, according to the UDLS project manager, Mr Andrew Kagoda, have been detected both at the head office in Kampala and at regional offices. 
Mr Kagoda said police have made several arrests in connection with the matter.

“We have rising cases of middlemen and fraudsters attempting to infiltrate and undermine our system. We have several cases on file, and arrests have been made, and many cases are still under investigation,” he said.

“The good thing is that it is police that is providing security to us. On top of police, we have several supporting agencies that are helping us in this area to ensure that our system is not infiltrated,” Mr Kagoda added.

This was revealed to the State minister for Transport, Mr Fred Byamukama, as he toured UDLS offices in Kampala last Friday.
The revelation comes four months after UDLS took over the contract for issuance of driving permits from Face Technologies, a South African company.
UDLS, which is headquartered at the Uganda Railway offices on Nasser Road in Kampala, took over the contract on March 1.However, it should be noted that Nasser Road, according to police, is the centre of people that engage in forgery of all sorts of documents.

UDLS issues the driving permits under a joint venture with the Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation (USPC) and Veridos GmbH, a German company. 
At the unveiling of UDLS in March, Works minister Gen Katumba Wamala assured the country that the company would be safe from infiltration from external threats and issuance of licenses would be faster.

Government also indicated that UDLS would work with the National Identification Registration Authority (NIRA) for data verification. But Mr Kagoda on Friday said this cooperation is yet to be realised.

“We have had frequent incidents of downsides in operation issues in Internet services and also accessing the databases of the corporation agencies of URA [Uganda Revenue Authority] and NIRA and [also there are] freezes [that occur],” he said.

Mr Kagoda also said service delivery is impeded by inadequate space at various upcountry offices. For instance, he said, the Arua, and Mbale offices have a very small waiting area, with majority of the clients having to brave scorching sunshine or suffer the wrath of heavy rain whenever the skies open.

Data from the UDLS indicates that a total of 90, 064 driving permits have been issued between March and June. Of these, 29,378 are learners’ driving licences. As a way of eliminating middlemen, Mr Kagoda said they are working to digitise most of their services.

One of the services set to go online is the application for the clearance certificate issued by the Inspectorate of Vehicles as a prerequisite for issuance of the driver’s licence.Mr Byamukama to support UDLS to fulfil its mandate.

Background...The takeover
The revelation comes four months after UDLS took over the contract for issuance of driving permits from Face Technologies, a South African company.
UDLS, which is headquartered at the Uganda Railway offices on Nasser Road in Kampala, took over the contract on March 1.