KUALA LUMPUR – The government is considering enacting specific laws to deal with cybersecurity breaches, said Datuk Abdul Latiff Ahmad (Mersing-Bersatu).
During his winding-up speech, the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (special functions) said that the matter is being discussed and a memorandum on it will be presented to the cabinet next week.
“Although we have the Personal Data Protection Act, Communications and Multimedia Act, and Police Act, the government is of the view that there should be a specific act to tackle cybersecurity issues.
“This matter is being discussed and I will be presenting the cabinet paper next week to ensure data owned by the government and private parties will be protected,” he said.
He was replying to questions from Wong Shu Qi (Kluang-PH) on the nation’s data security.
Debating on the 12th Malaysia Plan in the Dewan Rakyat on September 29, Wong expressed concerns over two security breaches that happened recently.
“Not only are our maritime borders unsafe from intrusions, our personal data is also not safe from being hacked.
“Among the challenges in the digital age is data security. If we let our guard down, hackers will be able to dismantle our administrative, financial, health, and other systems without even having to enter our physical borders,” Wong said.
Previously, The Star reported that a netizen raised concerns on a database being sold online that allegedly contains the personal data of four million Malaysians.
According to the English daily, Twitter user Adnan Mohd Shukor claimed that the database contains details such as names, emails, mobile numbers, addresses and is grouped by birth year from 1979 to 1998.
Adnan tweeted that there was an alleged attempt to sell 31.8GB worth of personal data harvested from the National Registration Department (NRD).
He said the data could be purchased at 0.2 bitcoins, equivalent to about RM45,595. However, the NRD denied any data leaks.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said in a statement that his ministry will ensure that personal data held by the NRD is secure. – The Vibes, October 7, 2021
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