The Ministry of Communications and Digital is looking to make improvements to personal data security and the handling of scammers. This was revealed yesterday by its minister, Fahmi Fadzil, on Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara programme during a discussion regarding the enhancements of the nation’s digital based aspects.
One of the ministry’s aspiring plans is to turn its Personal Data Protection Department into a statutory body in order for it to carry out its functions more efficiently. Fahmi said the agency will become among the important departments that need to be strengthened, especially concerning the effective safeguarding of personal data from risks such as leakage.
“For example, if I issue a cash cheque, the bank will call for confirmation,” he said during the discussion. “The same process applies to the security of personal data, and the government agency related to personal data must automatically inform the leakage of personal data. This aspect is being studied.”
In addition, the ministry is also looking to enhance the current laws, as well as review its structure or policy. Fahmi notes that this is due to the fact that currently, there are at least four ministries that are handling matters involving personal data security and enforcement against fraud or scams.
Another move the Ministry of Communications and Digital is mulling on is forming a new authority known as the Malaysian Cyber Security Commission by upgrading its CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM) agency. Fahmi said the department has the expertise in cyber security, and its services are claimed to be the best in the Asia-Pacific region for digital forensics. “We must work on forming a commission, so that [the CSM] can be given the powers to carry out investigations, and has enough provisions of the law to carry out enforcement procedures,” he explained.
Apart from discussing the above issues, the Comms minister also revealed that the government is expected to announce the introduction and implementation of 5G with added features by the end of March. Fahmi said that Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), the state-run agency handling the infrastructure’s rollout, is currently studying and evaluating the available options to ensure that the implementation will be able to be expanded throughout the country. “We want to make sure there will be no negative effect on the nation’s finances, and we hope by 2025, there will be at least 80% coverage in populated areas,” he added.
