Gobind Calls For Integrated Online Mechanism To Strengthen Cybersecurity

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo has called for the creation of an integrated online platform to streamline efforts from various agencies and strengthen Malaysia's cyber data security and personal data protection framework.

The minister highlighted the challenges of the current recourse system and investigation processes, which require significant time and physical presence for lodging complaints and conducting investigations.

“When an incident occurs, there is a mechanism for filing complaints, usually starting with a police report. After that, an investigation is opened, officers are assigned to review the facts, and a team is assembled to conduct a thorough investigation. 

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"The team will then call in people for the purpose of taking statements, making arrests, they will also look for evidence, they may have to go into premises to get items, they may have to go online to take down postings.

“So, there's a whole series of things that occur in an investigation,” he told reporters after delivering a keynote address at the International Legal Conference on Online Harms 2024 here today.

Gobind said a centralised online platform would allow faster coordination between various agencies, including the police, cybersecurity experts and personal data protection bodies (JPDP). 

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By doing so, he said Malaysia could enhance its defence against growing cybersecurity threats and better protect citizens' personal data.

Earlier in his keynote address, Gobind stressed that the entire ecosystem needed to change, and be proactive as these crimes could be borderless.

As digital transformation accelerates, he also emphasised the need for stronger collaboration between government bodies and private sector stakeholders to ensure the security of the nation’s digital infrastructure.

"We have to start thinking where we are going to be in the next 10 years, we have to start looking a new technology, accept and acknowledge that people would change the way they do things...and then we must ask ourselves whether or not we are prepared for that?

"And in terms of preparation, we have to look back at laws that we already have," he said.

Gobind also said that the Omnibus Bill, which deals with data sharing, would be tabled in the next Parliament session.

“We will introduce Data Sharing Bill this December or November. We are preparing it now to ensure data privacy is protected,” he said.

The two-day conference, which began yesterday was co-organised by the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department (BHEUU), the Communications Ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in collaboration with UNICEF Malaysia, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM).

-- BERNAMA