Poster for Legal Framework

Malaysian Internet Censorship

http://www.vpnaccounts.com/malaysian-internet-censorship.html

Censorship in Malaysia has evolved into a mixed bag of misinformation and mystery, and some people claim that new censorship plans are underway. Nobody is exactly sure what's going to happen. The Prime Minister himself denied that any plans fitting the description of censorship were underway. However, if plans to apply censorship to Malaysian Internet access do exist, it would be common place to see such a sanction inducted into law. And, as always, censorship initiatives are almost always met with stiff public opposition.

In order to accomplish these initiatives, filters are installed in cooperation with Internet service providers. For example, Thailand does not require that ISP's censor offensive content, but there is an unspoken law in countries like these. Disobeying a government request most often results in higher penalties and additional sanctions. Restricting bandwidth and revoking an ISP's license are two such penalties.

In a similar fashion, some Malaysian companies are given free will without the burden of censorship. However, if such an ISP is found to be violating Malaysian law, such as allowing an organization to launch an anti-government rally, Malaysian authorities most often wield an iron fist in the face of these rebel parties. The punishments are often extraordinarily severe, depending on the scope of the crime.

Basically, any opposition to government regulation is considered a violation of law and dealt with accordingly. Malaysia's stance on the matter is fairly simple. Any content on the Internet that could jeopardize Malaysian authority is considered to be a violation of the law. The determination of what constitutes a violation rests in the hands of Malaysian authorities.

An Internet filter stands to solve the problem of questionable content available to all Malaysians. Just like in China, any defacing of government image could lead to rebellion and/or disrespect for the country in which they live. In addition, Malaysia is not an incredibly wealthy country, so any content deemed to be detrimental to the livelihood of Malaysia would fall under the scrutiny of the censorship filter.

Wealthy individuals and businesses have the option of purchasing a VPN, or (Virtual Private Network), to gain unadulterated and uncensored access to the Internet. The advent of an Internet filter that blocks content causing damage to the public view or general morale is a wise move by Malaysian officials. As of the present moment, there are no restrictions on Internet access for the general public. But, if such a content filter is installed, there remains the problem of sites accidentally being blocked for no reason. A content filter is no match for the human mind, and there are bound to be pages filtered out that are not in violation of Malaysian censorship efforts.

When and if the filter is launched, Internet users will have to hope for the best. There is no way to know what content the filter is going to block, so business sites are in danger of temporarily losing revenue while glitches are sorted out. On the other hand, purchasing a Virtual Private Network still offers users the ability to surf the Internet without any restrictions.

Tutorial Exercise - Law on PDPD and Cybercrime

1. Linda was stunned in front her PC when she received an electronic mail, in a chain of senders and receivers, telling bad things about herself, her crazy shopping habits, her domestic problems and her involvement in superstitious activities with a bomoh(magician) allegedly for gaining her more wealth and fortunes. She is now thinking to pursue legal actions for the unfavorable email against her. With reference to the above case, explain the meaning of online defamation, and discuss the legal remedies available for Linda. (Nov 2004)

Defamation means something attack the good reputation of somebody or say bad things about somebody , meaning as a result of malice, desire to harm someone else and its a unprivileged statement of fact. Online defamation means someone attack somebody else through Internet. One would have grounds for a lawsuit if remarks were made about them that were defaming to their character online. The side have to prove that the statement is false as well as malice in order to win for the lawsuit.

In Linda case, Linda can prove the email for her lawyer to against the senders. In Malaysia, in LAW OF MALAYSIA, penal code section 499 to section 502 is applicable for the case as Linda. If the senders is found guilty, he or she might get punishment. This can be divided into civil or criminal cases. In civil cases, the person sue the makers just want to get compensation on what he/she had damage on the person’s reputation. But, in criminal cases, whoever defames another shall be punished with two years of jail or with fine or with both. For Linda, she can sue the person for damage her reputation , get compensation and seek for apologizes.


2. Tommy, a Multimedia student at MMU, was caught by University authority after it was found that he had cracked the University’s information system, defaced the front page of University’s official website and stolen a bulk of confidential data regarding students’ academic records. It was also discovered that he had attempted to break several lecturers’ computer system but without avail. On the investigation he said that all his action was just for fun exploring the system’s weaknesses and without any criminal intention. In this case, advise the University regarding Tommy’s liabilities arising from his actions with reference to the law of computer crimes in Malaysia.

What is cyber crime? Cyber crime can be simple be describe as access other people ’s personal computer without any authorised right. Other than that, illegal interception or someone damage or delete computer data without right, can be said as cyber crime too. In Malaysia Law, cyber crime can fall into Computer Crime Act 1997 that related to the misuse of computer.

Tommy had cracked university’s information system and this is the acts of unauthorized access on CCA 1997 , section 3. An person shall be guilty of an offence if (a) he causes a pc to perform any function with intent to secure access to any program or data held in any computer ; (b)the access is unauthorized ; (c) the person knows at the time when he causes the computer to perform the function. Whoever fall under this section , will be liable to a maximum RM50,000 fine or 5 years jail or both.

Furthermore, Tommy had done another serious act which is defaced the front page of University’s official website and stolen a bulk of confidential data regarding students’ academic records. This can lead him under Computer Crime Act 1997 ,Section 5(1) which is the person modified of the contents of a computer without any rights. IF the person is found any guilty under this act, will be punishable with a maximum RM 100,000.00 fine or to 7 years imprisonment or to both. Nevertheless, Tommy said his action is just for fun exploring the system’s weaknesses and without any criminal intention. But, what he did was attempted to unauthorized access to his university ’s system.

Internet Content Regulation

What is Content Regulation? The open and ubiquitous nature of the internet facilities all kinds of abuses. Obscenity, hatred speech, defamatory messages, indecent content and other type of harmful contents flourish in the internet. For this reason, many countries are now regulating speech on the Internet, just like what they have traditionally done all types of mass media.

Offensive contents that could implicate in content regulation are defamation:libel and slander, child pornography, rumor mongering, hatred messages, workplace issues and against public norms.

Malaysia had an unique law which is 'no cencorship policy'. Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 was implemented by Malaysia government for internet content regulation. "nothing in this Act shall be construed as permitting the censorship of the internet".

In order to regulate the harmful content, under Communication and Multimedia Act 1998, Multimedia Commission is required to form Content Forum comprising of industry leaders, consumer NGOs and government agencies.

More than 4,000 cybercrime cases reported in two years

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/1/17/nation/20090117161235&sec=nation

JOHOR BARU: More than 4,000 cyber complaints, mostly concerning cyber crimes have been lodged with Cybersecurity Malaysia in the past two years.

Its chief executive officer Lieutenant-Colonel Husin Jazri said that the complaints, mostly consisted of hack threats, fraud, denial of services and other computer problems such files lost or corrupted by viruses.

"We have received about 2,000 complaints in 2007.

"Last year, a total of 2,123 cases were lodged with us," he told pressmen after the presentation of five computers to a school in the Kampung Simpang Arang Orang Asli settlement.

Science, Technology and Innovation secretary-general Datuk Abdul Hanan Alang Endut presented the computers on Saturday.

Lt-Col Husin explained that the agency's services catered for individuals, as well as companies, who faced computer related problems.

"Our consultation services are free but we will charge any work that needs to be done such as repairs.

"The charges varies on a case by case basis," he said adding that the agency rarely charged students or those from the lower-income group.

He said that the agency's 150-strong staff was dedicated to solving computer problems as they aimed to serve the needs of the public.

"We have an emergency response team that caters to the complaints.

"Among our other services are digital forensics, security assurance, security management and best practices," he said.

He added that the agency's main objective is to be a one-stop coordination centre for all national cyber security initiatives.

"Among the initiatives are reducing vulnerability of ICT systems and networks and nurture a culture of cyber security among users and critical sectors," he said.

Lt-Col Husin said the public could contact the agency at 03-89926888, fax at 03-89453205 or email at info [at]cybersecurity.my.

"People can also contact our hotline at CYBER999 to report any problems.

"Our office in Seri Kembangan is open from Monday to Friday," he said.

He said that the agency was also working closely with enforcement agencies such as the police in solving and curving cybercrimes in the country.

Questions cloud cyber crime cases

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3202116.stm

The acquittal of a teenager accused of carrying out a high-profile hack attack has cast doubts over future computer crime prosecutions, say experts.

Aaron Caffrey walked free from court after being acquitted

Aaron Caffrey, 19, was accused of crashing systems at the port of Houston in Texas by hacking into its computer systems.

But a jury cleared him after believing his defence that hackers had broken into his computer and used it to launch the attack.

"This verdict sets a potentially dangerous precedent with regard to hacking cases," said Cable & Wireless security expert Richard Starnes.

"A potential outcome is that defendants, charged with such an offence in the future, could attempt to compromise their own system, in order to employ a similar defence in the event they are caught."

Elite member

Mr Caffrey had faced one charge at Southwark Crown Court of unauthorised modification of computer material.

Clearly the authorities are facing a fundamental problem when attempting to prosecute suspected computer criminals Graham Cluley, Sophos

He was accused of launching an attack on 20 September 2001 on one of the US's biggest ports, bombarding its computer system with thousands of electronic messages.

It froze the port's web service, which contained vital data for shipping, mooring companies and support firms responsible for helping ships navigate in and out of the harbour.

Mr Caffrey admitted being a member of a group called Allied Haxor Elite and hacking into computers for friends to test their security.

But he insisted he was not responsible for the attack on the port of Houston.

Both the defence and prosecution acknowledged that the attack had come from Mr Caffrey's computer.

The case hinged on whether the jury believed the defendant's argument that his computer had been taken over by a hacker using a Trojan horse program.

A forensic examination of Mr Caffrey's PC had found no trace of a hidden program with the instructions for the attack.

Trojan defence

The verdict shows that the prosecution case failed to convince the jury that the teenage was responsible for the attack.

"Clearly the authorities are facing a fundamental problem when attempting to prosecute suspected computer criminals," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at the security firm, Sophos.

"The Caffrey case suggests that even if no evidence of a computer break-in is unearthed on a suspect's PC, they might still be able to successfully claim that they were not responsible for what their computer does, or what is found on its hard drive."

The Trojan defence has been successfully used in the UK courts before.

In July, a man was cleared of possessing child porn when a number of Trojan horses were discovered on his computer.

Experts say the Caffrey case could prompt a review by police of how to present evidence before a jury in computer crime cases.

Cyber Crime

Cyber Crime means any illegal act that involve a computer, its systems, or its applications. It is any intentional act associated in any way with computers where a victim suffered or could have suffered a loss, and a perpetrator made or could have made a gain. It also means any illegal act for which knowledge of computer technology is essential for either its pepetration, investigation or prosecution.

Cyber crime committed on the internet. Everything from electronic hacking to denial of service attacks that cause electronic commerce sites to lose money. The crime that usually related with technology, computers and the internet. It happen when people using a computer and the internet to steal a person's identity.

According to latest survey, computer crimes are committed by students, members of organise crime, disenchanted employees and ect.

There is few famous international cyber criminal in the history who are Jeffrey Parson, Adrian Lamo, Kevin Mitnick, Ventimiglia and others. To control or prevent more cyber crime happen, there are some international law on computer crimes been formulated. For example, European Convention on Cybercrime, Computer Misuse Act (UK), Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (US), Computer Misuse Act (Singapore), and Information Technology Act 2000 (India).

Malaysia also have own legal framework. Computer crimes in Malaysia are mainly provided in the Computer Crimes Act 1997. Besides that, there is other laws would cover the remedies, which are Copyright Act, Communication and Multimedia Act, Penal Code and Internal Security Act.