DUBAI: Malaysia is building a network with several influential countries to step up cooperation in the fight against ‘spam’.
Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the matter is important as it involved the question of security as well as the integrity of telecommunication network.
Spam refers to unsolicited email or junkmail which could result in compromising private information on the internet.
He said data showed that at the moment there were more than 183 billion spams in the internet throughout the world every day and according to him, if the global community did not give serious attention to this nuisance on the internet, spam would continue to plague the internet.
“In Malaysia, we are also exposed to spam which affects the integrity of the internet,” he told reporters after attending one of the sessions at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) here yesterday evening.
Rais said Malaysia was hoping the issue of spam would be featured in many international conferences for discussion and sought consensus in formulating solutions.
“…(nonetheless) if these conferences fail to highlight spam and security, the question of internet integrity would still not resolved, and as a sovereign country, Malaysia would defend itself from such foreign intrusions as we have our own laws which could be enforced,” he said.
He gave the example of the enforcement of various acts relating to communications, multimedia and computer errors, to manage security and integrity breaches on the internet.
“We are here to gather consensus with countries sharing the same sentiments on the matter,” he said.
When asked if there were consensus with various countries on the issue of security and spam, Rais said it was too early to make any conclusion.
He said the involvement of Malaysia in WCIT was a preliminary effort to register the views of countries on spam and security and according to him, the conclusion would only be highlighted in the final conference document after being reviewed by all parties concerned.
“…but I am confident the matter (spam) would eventually become a pressing issue in many countries,” he said.
In the evening, Rais and his wife Datin Seri Maznah Rais hosted a dinner for Malaysians working and residing here. — BERNAMA