SHAH ALAM, Oct 21 — Civil servants are prohibited from using the navigation app Waze effective immediately, following a decision by the National Cyber Security Committee (JKSN).
Kosmo! reported that Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar said all ministry secretaries-general and heads of department must ensure the directive is communicated to their staff for immediate implementation.
Any inquiries or requests for further clarification regarding the implementation may be directed to the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA), under the Prime Minister’s Department’s National Security Council, which serves as the coordinating agency.
“Your cooperation and serious attention to ensuring that this decision is fully complied with across your respective ministries, departments and agencies are greatly appreciated,” he said in a letter dated yesterday.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim encouraged the public to use local navigation app TuJu, which is developed by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM), as an alternative to Waze.
The proposal takes into account information security risks and the potential exposure of Malaysians’ movement data, given that Waze is subject to Israeli laws.
He said the matter was discussed during JKSN’s recent meeting.
“We cannot compromise when it comes to the security of our citizens' data and identities,” Anwar said in a Facebook post.
