KUALA LUMPUR, February 18, 2025 – The Ministry of Digital is set to introduce an intelligence system to monitor activities involving the sale of personal data on the dark web in the second quarter of this year.
Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, said that the “Threat Intelligence Capacity Support Automation Project for Personal Data Breach Case Management” is Malaysia’s first intelligence system aimed at monitoring the sale of personal data on the dark web.
“This project has been developed due to increasing concerns about the issue of selling and transacting personal data through online shopping platforms, including the dark web. This project will be launched in the second quarter of this year,” said Gobind.
This initiative is part of the efforts by the Ministry of Digital, through the Personal Data Protection Commissioner (PDP), to address the increasingly concerning global digital security crisis.
The Ministry of Digital, through the PDP Commissioner, is also actively enhancing enforcement activities, intensifying advocacy programs, and upgrading software, applications, and security used in regulating personal data security laws, including:
a. Increasing the inspection of personal data systems under Section 101 of Act 709 in 2025 by at least 30% compared to 2024. In addition to on-site company and organization inspections, the PDP Commissioner will also increase online self-assessments to enhance compliance by companies and organizations in processing personal data.
b. Increasing raids based on complaints of data breaches and cyber incidents occurring in companies and organizations that process personal data with commercial transactions.
c. Opening PDP Commissioner offices in various locations across the country, starting with offices in the Sabah and Sarawak zones, followed by designated zones to facilitate coordination and execution of raid activities in the states within each relevant zone.
d. Enhancing advocacy and awareness programs about the importance of compliance with personal data processing in commercial transactions based on Personal Data Protection Principles.
“Additionally, the PDP Commissioner will implement the Information Security and Privacy Management System (ISPMS) Certification Project based on the ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS) and ISO/IEC 27701 Privacy Information Management System (PIMS) standards to ensure that the security of software, applications, information systems, and privacy of entities under Act 709 remains at optimal levels according to international standards,” said Gobind.
“In efforts to develop national cyber expertise, CyberSecurity Malaysia, an agency under the Ministry of Digital, will establish the Malaysian Cyber Security Academy, as announced by the Deputy Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi last September. This step supports the Digital Ministry’s aspiration to fill the gap in skilled cybersecurity workforce by offering courses focused on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET),” he added.
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