Kazakhstan Sets Mid-September Deadline for Transition to National Messenger Aitu

The deadline is set for mid-September, Orda.kz reports, citing the Government of Kazakhstan.

At a meeting of the digital headquarters chaired by Olzhas Bektenov, Minister of Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev announced the approval of a plan to integrate existing platforms and regulations for handling data in the field of AI. General standards for collecting, verifying, and structuring information are being introduced.

Data from current systems will be uploaded to Smart Data Ukimet by September 1, with full integration scheduled for December 1.

The national messenger AITU, which has already undergone testing at the Ministry of Digital Development, will now be adopted by all government agencies and organizations in the quasi-public sector. The transition period runs until September 15.

A unified plan is being launched to merge 224 state information systems to eliminate duplicate functions and discrepancies in statistics. At present, more than 355 systems and websites of government bodies already operate under “electronic government.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Emergency Situations has begun using the national messenger for official communication. The service now hosts a 112 KZ channel, which publishes departmental updates and warnings.

An official Aitu channel 112 KZ has been created, where news, warnings and materials about the department's activities will be published. This will enable messenger users to receive reliable information directly from rescue services,
 said Dinara Nurgalieva, the ministry’s official representative.

On August 11, during a meeting on AI development, President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev instructed the government to transfer all communications containing citizens’ personal data to the secure national messenger.

He stressed that such information is often transmitted through international services, creating risks of leaks outside the country. According to him, the domestic Aitu application can provide the necessary level of protection.

The move follows the country’s largest personal data breach in recent years, which occurred on June 13. A 799 MB archive containing data on 16.3 million citizens was made publicly available, including IINs, full names, birth dates, citizenship details, addresses, and more than 17 million phone numbers.

Original Author: Raushan Korzhumbekova