KUALA LUMPUR: Data breaches have surged in recent years, with 646 cases reported in 2023, jumping 1192% from just 50 in 2022.
The Digital Ministry has already recorded 427 data breach reports as of September this year, Minister Gobind Singh Deo told Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Oct 17).
"Data leaks have serious implications for the country's security and sovereignty.
"Sensitive information like personal details of citizens, government secrets, and security data can be manipulated by threat actors and hackers.
"This opens the room to cyber threats like surveillance, hacking attacks, and data misuse that erode public trust in government institutions," he said in a written reply to Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka) in Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (17 Oct).
The minister added that unscrupulous parties could exploit exposed data to commit cybercrimes such as identity theft and attacks on critical national infrastructure.
Furthermore, data breaches risk damaging the country's economy and creating instability, he said.
"The government will always take proactive measures to reduce the risk of data leaks and ensure the security of the nation's information is guaranteed," he added.
Meanwhile, he said the Ministry has implemented monitoring and cyber threat detection measures to curb incidents of government sector data being traded on the Dark Web.
He added that this includes establishing an active monitoring centre supervised by CyberSecurity Malaysia's Pre-Emptive Services and Technology Division to oversee suspicious activities on the Dark Web.
The Ministry also analyses and gathers information on data breaches involving government ministries and agencies. It has provided guidelines and training to civil servants on cybersecurity issues and data leak prevention measures.
The Ministry is collaborating with other agencies and law enforcement, such as the Personal Data Protection Department (JPDP), to ensure prompt action against any data breach incidents.
