SHAH ALAM- Anti-graft movement Rasuah Busters has urged Putrajaya to probe the alleged data leak of 22.5 million Malaysians immediately to stop data manipulation or fraudulent activity.
Rasuah Busters CEO Nurhayati Nordin said data protection is not a mere legal necessity.
"Although an investigation is currently ongoing the government must act in a timely manner and must not delay the probe.
"Take action immediately as this issue creates a great potential of fraudulent activities or data manipulation by a third party which can result to phishing scams, identity theft, cyber threats and all sorts of damaging consequences to Malaysians’ identity," she said in a statement.
This comes after Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the recent alleged personal information data leak will not jeopardise national security. He further said the home ministry was well-equipped to handle any alleged data leaks but acknowledged the concern among many quarters over the matter.
But Nurhayati pointed out that such incidents are a sign that fraud literature needs to be addressed and expanded to the government sector and the public and due to that it is "high time to focus on transparency, value and the impact of data leakage".
She urged for frequent monitoring, evaluation, and serious legal action enforced to ensure the efficiency of the service and to eliminate harmful attacked by any irresponsible predators.
"We need to be reminded how data security leakages can lead to a serious economic impact on the livelihood of the rakyat. Government need to exercise strict measures and precautions to protect this country from hackers and cyber and non-cyber criminals from security threats," she added.
Last week, tech website Lowyat.net reported that a national registration department (JPN) dataset containing details of Malaysia’s population with birth years from 1940 to 2004 of roughly 22.5 million people was on sale for nearly RM44,000 at a database marketplace forum.
The seller claimed the personal data included full names, identity card numbers, addresses and photographs.
Bukit Aman’s commercial crime investigation department said it was probing the validity of the allegations after a police report had been lodged.