KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- The Cybercrime Bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament this March, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also Minister of Rural and Regional Development, said the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) is currently finalising the Bill to replace the Computer Crimes Act 1997 (Act 563).
“The drafting of the Cybercrime Bill aims to address gaps in existing legislation in dealing with cybercrime threats, while strengthening enforcement capabilities and safeguarding national cybersecurity as well as consumer rights in the digital space.
“The Cybercrime Bill adopts a more holistic and up-to-date approach by incorporating provisions that will cover both types of cybercrime, namely cyber-enabled crimes and cyber-dependent crimes,” he said when winding up debate on the Motion of Thanks for the Royal Address for the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) in the Dewan Rakyat today.
According to Ahmad Zahid, online fraud crimes continue to show a significant upward trend, with total losses last year reported to have exceeded RM2.9 billion, an increase of more than 86 per cent compared with RM1.574 billion recorded in 2024.
He said that up to September 2025 alone, losses amounting to RM1.919 billion had been recorded, increasing by nearly RM1 billion by the end of 2025.
“… the misuse of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) in the modus operandi of cybercriminals, including deepfakes and the like, has caused extremely dangerous harm to all affected victims,” he said.
In the context of hybrid conflict, Ahmad Zahid said deepfake technology has the potential to become a major catalyst for information warfare, particularly through the spread of misinformation, disinformation and malinformation (MDM) as instruments of psychological operations.
He said the Russia-Ukraine conflict has proven that deepfakes and MDM have become key components in information warfare, where information manipulation is used to shape perceptions, weaken morale and influence international support.
Meanwhile, he said to ensure national digital security and sovereignty, NACSA is also implementing follow-up actions to ensure that all related measures, covering AI technology, sovereign cloud and post-quantum security, are addressed through the implementation of various initiatives.
Among the initiatives are the development of Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity Guidelines based on secure-by-design principles and efforts to enhance cryptographic security and post-quantum readiness in collaboration with the Malaysian Cryptology Technology and Management Centre (PTPKM).
In addition, NACSA and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) are also leading the development of a sovereign cloud to address risks related to foreign jurisdictional reach (extraterritorial reach).
-- BERNAMA
