THE Cybercrime Bill 2026 has received the nod, paving the way for a comprehensive legal framework to tackle increasingly sophisticated cybercrime and strengthen the country’s cyber security regime.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said yesterday the Bill was designed to close gaps in existing laws, strengthen prevention, detection and enforcement, and ensure that the legal system remained relevant to current cyber challenges.
The Bill is intended, among others, to repeal the Computer Crimes Act 1997 (Act 563) to ensure that Malaysia can meet its international obligations under the Budapest Convention (Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime) and United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime.
It will also provide regulatory and enforcement powers for addressing increasingly complex cybercrime offences.
Under the Bill, it is an offence for any person to transmit, distribute, publish, sell, offer for sale or otherwise make available any intimate image of another person through a computer system without lawful justification, with offenders facing up to five years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to RM300,000, or both.
