Govt to amend Personal Data Protection Act to require notification of data breaches

pKUALA LUMPUR The government is planning to amend the Personal Data Protection Act of 2010 to include breach notification requirements that compel companies to inform authorities when a data breach happens in commercial transactions said Digital Minister Gobind Singh DeoppGobind said his ministry proposes to table the amendment at the next sitting of Parliament with a total of seven points that it wants to raiseppOne of these is related to notification When there is an incident where we believe there is an attempt to breach companies need to notify the commission so that we can inform all involved parties data owners and so onppIf an incident occurs several parties are involved We need to ensure that all involved parties are informed so they can protect their interests This is a provision we will include there And there are other provisions he told reporters after the launch of LGMS MadeinMalaysia StarSentry Cybersecurity Solution in support of the National Cyber Security Bill and Cybersecurity for Rakyat initiative todayppGobind also announced a plan to table the National Data Sharing Bill a law that allows data sharing which is currently being drafted in the last quarter of this yearppWe are now looking at the public sector We need to look at that data sharing because that is a key ingredient for us to take full advantage of data that we have moving ahead with technology he saidppGobind also said his ministry plans to take the issue of cybersecurity incentives to the Cabinet for discussion to provide encouragement for cybersecurity effortsppWe will bring this matter to be discussed at the Cabinet level and see how we can possibly provide incentives This cybersecurity is something the government should encourage If we want to encourage it we need to discuss how we can provide incentives or in other ways This is something we will discuss he addedppGobind said there is a 5 increase in complaints about data breaches or leaks in the first quarter of this year from the last quarter of last year I have been informed by the data protection office that in the last quarter of last year we had 157 reports and in the first quarter of this year there are 163 he addedppIn light of these developments he said prioritising security measures is important in navigating the digital landscapeppWe want to create a convincing ecosystem a trusted ecosystem that will be used by everyone This is something we need to examine carefully and ensure that steps are taken not only by the government but also by the public sector We need to work together Collaboration is very important he saidppDeveloped entirely by LGMS Bhd and spearheaded by its wholly owned subsidiary Applied Security Intelligence Sdn Bhd ASI the solution aims to safeguard the domestic cybersecurity landscape before expanding regionally and internationallyppLGMS chairman Fong Choong Fook said StarSentry serves as a cybersecurity solution conceived from rigorous RD and designed for user accessibility which took years in the makingppStarSentry is crafted with the principle of Cybersecurity for Rakyat at its core offering a userfriendly plugandplay approach at an affordable price It encompasses a solution for SMEs to be aware of cyber threats within their systems including cyber risk insurance for every eligible subscriber said FongppWith vulnerability scanning and threat detection features StarSentry empowers SMEs to enhance their cybersecurity posture and meet regulatory requirements he addedppDuring the event the LGMS group via ASI solidified two key partnerships one with Tokio Marine Insurans Malaysia Bhd which underwrites cyber insurance for subscribers of StarSentry and the other with VSTECS Astar Sdn Bhd a subsidiary of VSTECS Bhd which was appointed as the exclusive distributor of StarSentryppStarSentry was developed in alignment with the recently announced National Cyber Security Bill 2024ppBy safeguarding critical national information infrastructure CNII sectors like government banking transportation and digital industries StarSentry plays a crucial role in bolstering Malaysias overall cybersecurity resilience as mandated by the bill Fong saidppMitsui Co Ltd of Japan holds 25 equity interest in LGMSppppTel 6037784 6688      Fax 6037785 2625p