Putrajaya Denies News of Any Information on Buying

Themalaymailonline.com published news on 1st December, 2015, quoting Putrajaya, the federal administrative capital of Malaysia, as saying recently "we have no news on claims that our agencies had bought software to spy on Malaysians, but we prioritize private details and public privacy".

Themalaymailonline.com published a statement on 1st December, 2015, according to which, Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Najib Razak had given a written reply to Subang MP R. Sivarasa in the parliament stating that the rights of privacy of Malaysians are protected under laws like the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Act.

Najib said that in Malaysia, the government ensures the protection of private details and secrets so that it would not be harmed by careless individuals.

He added that this ministry doesn't have any details regarding acquisition of the software, the Remote Control System (RCS), by the government to spy on the people.

Themalaymailonline.com published news on 1st December, 2015, stating that Sivarasa asked Najib on 3rd November, 2015, in the parliament for his views on claims that agencies like Prime Minister's Department has bought spyware to spy on Malaysians.

On 23rd November, Putrajaya had also refused to have bought spyware from an Italian security firm in March last year.

In July, an anonymous hacker or a gang of hackers, revealed internal documents of Hacking Team such as source codes and email communications, disclosing invoices showing the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) buying RCS from the online security vendor.

The documents revealed that MACC is the biggest payer to Hacking Team followed by MI (Military Intelligence) and PMO (Prime Minister's Office).

The MACC has paid Euro 789,123 (RM3.32 million) to Hacking Team, including maintenance for the year 2016.

This is in spite of reports that license of MAAC's software had lapsed in 2014, but it is not clear if the report is based on the most updated documents.

Hacking Team sold a spyware known as computer Trojan, which once activated by opening the file, can track, spy and download information from the computer of the victim.

» SPAMfighter News - 12/7/2015