Transparency International blasts govt for apathetic reaction to data leaks

 Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) has expressed deep concern over the recurring pattern of data leaks from Malaysian government agencies that are empowered and entrusted with personal data.

“Media reports last week revealed that data from the voting portal MySPR was publicly on sale on the internet. It was also reported that the caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had merely urged the Election Commission to probe the matter.

“This is a recurring problem and a serious national issue that has been responded to with lacklustre assurances of action and investigation by ministries and agencies that have been passing the buck from one to another,” said TI-M president Muhammed Mohan (above) in a statement today.

He noted that this is not the first time this year that there was news about the sale of confidential information of Malaysians being on sale in the public domain.

“The data security of Malaysians seems to have been seriously compromised from time to time and there seems to be a lack of sincere accountability and commitment to identify and plug the leaks. 

“More importantly, one suspects there must have been corrupt activities which led to the leakage and all involved should be brought to justice for such criminal acts,” he said.

TI-M said Malaysians must urge the present and the incoming government for a commitment to data privacy and cyber security and throw out any parties that are lost on the data highways and stuck in the Stone Age.

Since the campaign for the 15th general election kicked off on Nov 5, voters have received calls or messages via WhatsApp from political party campaigners, prompting questions of personal data protection.

On social media, voters have shared screenshots of WhatsApp messages they received from campaigners urging them to vote.

The messages contain details, including their polling centre and identity card numbers.

Some of these details are accessible to political parties through the electoral roll, however, it is unclear how the campaigners could access voters’ telephone numbers.

To date, those who complained said they received messages from BN, PN, and Pakatan Harapan. - Mkini