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Malaysia has recorded 8,014 online fraud charges by May this year, already exceeding the full-year 2025 total. Deputy PM Ahmad Zahid cited the surge as justification for the new Cyber Crime Bill 2026, which seeks to modernise the country's digital security framework.
Malaysia's government has established a special cross-agency committee to combat the escalating online scam epidemic, bringing together multiple ministries, financial institutions, telecommunications companies and social media platforms.
Malaysia's government is conducting a comprehensive study to develop stronger protections for cybercrime victims, examining international best practices and potential mechanisms for fund recovery.
India's technology ministry has directed Meta's WhatsApp to pause its planned username rollout and explain why regulatory action should not follow. The government fears the feature will enable fraud and impersonation by allowing contact without phone number disclosure.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged Malaysia to establish a sovereign cloud infrastructure to protect sensitive government and personal data from foreign access, particularly from US tech companies operating under the Cloud Act.
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Malaysian authorities have intensified efforts against cybercrime, arresting more than 45,000 suspects in online scam cases since 2023. Police have initiated 165,501 investigations, signalling the scale of digital fraud threatening Malaysian consumers.
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has urged Malaysia to adopt a more robust legal framework against cybercrime, citing 66,204 fraud cases in 2025 causing nearly RM3 billion in losses. He briefed government MPs on the proposed Cybercrime Bill 2026.
Malaysia introduced the Cybercrime Bill 2026 this week, imposing heightened penalties for online crimes including identity theft, AI-generated content abuse, digital fraud, and intimate image distribution.
Malaysia's parliament introduced the Cybercrimes Bill 2026 to modernise cybercrime enforcement, repealing the 1997 legislation with stricter penalties for computer-related offences and online fraud.
A proposed cybercrime bill in Malaysia would grant prosecutors expanded authority to collect internet traffic data and access communications content from service providers during criminal investigations.
Malaysia's National Security Council has clarified that circulating data leak claims originate from cybersecurity breaches before 2022 and do not involve current platforms. NACSA is collaborating with authorities to investigate and remove unlawful content.
Interpol's latest assessment reveals cybercrime has become a dominant criminal threat across Asia-Pacific, with online scams and fraud operations now representing roughly a third of all recorded crimes in numerous member states.
India has temporarily blocked the Telegram messaging app, accusing it of facilitating fraud in a national medical entrance examination already plagued by leaked paper allegations that invalidated millions of results.