LETTER | Malaysia recently witnessed one of the largest data breaches ever seen - with 46.2 million mobile number subscribers' data compromised and leaked online.

Worse, some victims have found that their MyKad was linked with phone numbers they haven't registered before.

Several days ago, a major bank was in the spotlight after several of their tapes containing their customer's information were lost during routine operations.

These are incidences involving our digital data being compromised. Unfortunately, they aren't the first.

Earlier this year, Malaysia was among 100 nations hit by a global ransomware cyber attack known as WannaCry. Generally, ransomware attack encrypts the data on computer or network, thus preventing the victim from accessing them unless a sum of payment was made to the attackers.

If we backtrack to 2015, a massive data leak involved students and parents' particulars being sold to higher education institutions and breaching Personal Data Protection Act 2010.

The recent shifts in the way we live have increased our reliance on technology and thus the need to share our information digitally. The booming sector of e-commerce, the digitalisation of our financial services and increased use of Malaysian mobile and related apps require us to forego our privacy in exchange for using these technologies.

This is not limited to our personal identifiable information or banking details but also commonly shared information like our phone numbers, location, and contact list - including granting access to digital data stored in the phone. The interconnectivity nature of data and internet pose both benefits and risks to users.

The way forward to addressing this risk is to advocate responsible use of technology among consumers. This includes taking necessary steps to reduce vulnerabilities and subsequently reducing the opportunity for cybercriminals to take advantage of. Continuous public education is paramount.

The second way forward is to study and improve data security and how information is stored in various industry sectors such as financial institutions and the telecommunication sector.

While companies set up security and technology systems to safeguard our data, are they competent and capable to deter fast changing cyberattacks? Do we need to start looking into certification as a mandatory requirement for vendors or security providers to ensure security services that are provided to companies are competent?

Digital information safekeeping is in everyone interest - keeping consumers' data from being manipulated, protecting brand confidence and our economy. Cyberattacks and data thefts are constantly changing, with new ways to attack and gain these digital data.

Stakeholders such as Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), CyberSecurity Malaysia, Ministry of Education, private sectors and NGOs must work together to improve and address the situation at hand to avoid similar incidents from happening again in the future.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.