Malaysia Commissioner wants facial biometrics security in Personal Data Protection Act

Clear policy is needed in Malaysia on endpoint security to reduce the risk of breaches of facial biometrics and other sensitive data, in light of their widespread use, according to a new report from the country’s Personal Data Protection Commissioner. The Commissioner has released Public Consultation Paper No. 1/2020 to review and gain insights over Malaysia’s Personal Data Protection Act 2010, which may require updates, writes Global Compliance News.

The Public Consultation Paper proposes a number of revisions, including the right to data portability, appointing a data protection officer (DPO) to establish guidelines, mandatory data breach reporting and privacy by design. Guidelines for personal data processing in cloud computing, informing residents about third-party access to personal data, and introducing guidelines for cross border data transfers are also identified as areas requiring action.

The Public Consultation Paper may be accessed here.

Last month, Malaysia’s National Registration Department (JPN) announced it would add biometric information to identity documents including birth, marriage, adoption and citizenship certificates to prevent identity fraud and enhance registration records’ security.

The country has also entered a partnership with Datasonic to provide facial recognition eGates for the Malaysia-Singapore border crossing.

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometrics  |  data protection  |  facial recognition  |  legislation  |  Malaysia  |  privacy