KUALA LUMPUR: The government is beefing up cybersecurity in order to nullify threats by scammers and hackers.
Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said that it was important so that personal data was not breached and misused by irresponsible parties.
Hence, he said that the government would be taking additional measures to improve cybersecurity in the country.
"We are looking at making key legislative amendments, including amending the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 to make it more robust to ensure that those holding the data are more responsible in protecting the data in their custody.
"The amendment is also to cover more sectors," he said in a press conference after a media appeciation event held here today.
He also said that the government was looking to merge the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) and CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM) and form the Malaysia Cybersecurity Commission (MCC).
For this, he said that a bill must be brought to parliament before it can materialise.
Fahmi also said that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has also taken necessary steps to block potential calls and messages from scammers and hackers.
He urged MCMC to look at ways to further improve the cybersecurity situation.
This morning, he said he had received a suspicious message from a person claiming to be Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri with her DP (default picture).
However, he felt that something was amiss when the sender texted 'assalamaalaikum'.
He contacted her and she clarified that it was not her and that she would not greet him in that way.
"This is an example where we should check before responding.
"With Hari Raya coming, please be careful if you receive calls from unknown numbers claiming to be friends.
"If you have fallen victim to such a scam, please contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997. InsyaAllah within few hours of the incident, banks can block the transaction," he added.