What is Cyber Law ?

Musbri Mohamed
DIL; ADIL ( ITM )
MBL ( UKM )

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The word cyberspace was first introduced into
language by the science fiction writer, William Gibson
in his 1984 novel, Neuromancer - Hilary E Pearson,
'Information in a Digital Age -- The Challenge to
Copyright' The Computer Law and Security Report
Vol 12 Issue 2 (1996) at p 90.

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The first time that the word “cyber law” came into being
in the local press in Malaysia was when the Government
was planning the creation of the Multimedia Super
Corridor (MSC) which was to be the centre of
information and communication technology
development in Malaysia.

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 Cyberspace allows its users to obliterate and declare obsolete
physical space and time. Within the shadowy realm of cyberspace,
time, distance and physical barriers are meaningless.

Business dealings can occur across the globe in an instant without

paper, pen or face-to-face contact. Banking transactions now almost
wholly take place in cyberspace; the only 'real' money left is the stuffy
in your pocket, and the use of such small change is continuing to
decrease as we increasingly rely on credit cards and direct debits
methods to pay our purchases.

The word cyberspace in its most narrow formulation is a synonym

for the internet. However, it actually encapsulates numerous terms-of-
art, among others, the internet, the information superhighway and the
Global Information Infrastructure (GII).

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Malaysian Government came up with the 10 Bill of Guarantees vis-à-vis
stated that the MSC will become a regional leader in cyber law and
intellectual property protection. Subsequently after , Malaysia passed a
comprehensive set of Acts of Parliament which can now be considered as
Malaysia’s cyber law consists as follows :-

. Communication & Multimedia Act 1998

. Malaysian Communication & Multimedia Commission Act 1998
. Digital Signature Act 1997
. Computer Crimes Act 1997
. Telemedicine Act
. Optical Disc Act
. Copyright Act 1987
. Payment Systems Act 2003
. Electronic Commerce Act 2006

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Electronic commerce is a growing section of the business
world. Initially emerging from the Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI); e-commerce has gone through several
major steps to get to its current point. Through these
steps there has been an emergence of several subsets of
e-commerce and new technologies. As a result of these
changes and the growth of electronic commerce benefits
and detriments have been brought to society that can be
generalized to all the subsets of e-commerce.

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Contemporary electronic commerce involves everything
from ordering "digital" content for immediate online
consumption, to ordering conventional goods and
services, to "meta" services to facilitate other types of
electronic commerce.
On the consumer level, electronic commerce is mostly
conducted on the World Wide Web. An individual can go
online to purchase anything from books or groceries, to
expensive items like real estate. Another example would
be online banking, i.e. online bill payments, buying
stocks, transferring funds from one account to another,
and initiating wire payment to another country. All of
these activities can be done with a few strokes of the
keyboard.

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On the institutional level, big corporations and financial institutions
use the internet to exchange financial data to facilitate domestic and
international business. Data integrity and security are very hot and
pressing issues for electronic commerce today.

Therefore topics for Cyber Law can be divided as the following ;-

1. Digital signature,
2. Telemedicine,
3. Cyber crime,
4. Cyber evidence,
5. Data protection,
6. e-government AND
7. The principles and concepts of E-commerce; laws governing e-
commerce and Credit Cards; legal aspects of Specific Electronic Fund
Transfer Transactions, ATM Card, Smart Card, E-Purse and Credit
Card.

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What is a digital signature?

A digital signature is an electronic means of authenticating an online

identity
A digital signature can:
Authenticate the identity of the sender of a message or signer of a
document-(Authentication of identity)
Encrypt the message so that it can only be read by the intended
recipient-(Confidentiality of info)
Be used to ensure that the original content of the message is
unchanged-(Integrity of message)
The message can be attributable to the sender-( Non-repudiation)
Be automatically time-stamped

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Cyber Crimes and Cyber terrorism: “Is the
Internet the new “Wild Wild West?”
There can be no one exhaustive definition about
Cyber crime. However, any activities which
basically offend human sensibilities, can also be
included in its ambit.

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Data Protection relates to issues relating to the collection,
storage, accuracy and use of data provided by net users in the use
of the World Wide Web. Visitors to any website want their
privacy rights to be respected when they engage in e-Commerce.
It is part of the confidence-creating role that successful e-
Commerce businesses have to convey to the consumer. If
industry doesn't make sure it's guarding the privacy of the data it
collects, it will be the responsibility of the government and it's
their obligation to enact legislation.

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In view of the rampancy of the abuse of personal
information in our countries (You may have been
receiving many cold calls, scam emails, soliciting
sms…etc) a comprehensive and up-to-date data
protection act is most welcome, however, on another
hand, such legislation must also take into account of
commercial viability. Otherwise it may undermine
the development of decent commercial transaction.

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e-Government (short for electronic government ,
also known as e-gov, digital government, online
government or transformational government) is a
diffused neologism used to refer to the use of
information and communication technology to
provide and improve government services,
transactions and interactions with citizens,
businesses, and other arms of government.

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Electronic Commerce Act 2006 ( ECA 2006 )

The process of developing the Bill started in 1999 when the 8th
meeting of the multimedia super corridor in full implementation
council directed the then Ministry of Energy, Communications
and Multimedia (MECM) to conduct a study on the
harmonisation of the existing laws with cyber laws and electronic
application. Thereafter, the MECM formed a working group to
formulate the terms of reference for the study. Messrs Zaid
Ibrahim & Company was later appointed as the consultant to
conduct the study. It was aimed at identifying laws that may
hinder electronic transactions.

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E-Commerce

A most common definition of e-commerce is 'the buying and

selling of products and services over the Internet or other
electronic network' (JC Yang 2000). Another possible definition
of electronic commerce would be: 'any form of business
transaction in which the parties interact electronically rather
than by physical exchange or direct physical contact' (EC
1995). However, while accurate, such a definition hardly
captures the spirit of electronic commerce, which in practice is
far better viewed as one of those rare cases where changing
needs and new technologies come together to revolutionize the
way in which business is conducted.

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E-commerce is a new way of conducting, managing
and executing business transactions using modern
means of information technology. It refers to all forms
of transactions relating to commercial activities,
including both organizations and individuals that are
based upon the processing and transmission of digitized
data, including text sound and visual images

The six main instruments of e-commerce that have

been recognized by WTO are telephone, fax, TV,
electronic payment and money transfer systems, EDI
and Internet.

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Telemedicine Act 1997

To be read with Akta Perubatan 1971 (Akta 50)

&
Malaysian Medical Council’s Code Of
Professional Conduct

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Evidence Act 1950

Section 90A allows a computer document produced by

a computer in good working order in the course of its
ordinary use, (e.g. a bank statement) to be admissible
as primary evidence provided it is accompanied by a
certificate from the person responsible for the
management of the operation of the computer who may
not be the maker of the document.

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The key to identify this potential
evidence lies not in the tangible
or intangible but in the
application of very traditional
evidentiary standards.
Computer related evidence must
pass the established admissibility
tests faced by all direct and
circumstantial evidence.
One of the evidence issues: the
best evidence rule.

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ELECTRONIC COMMERCE ACT 2006

Background
6 July 2006 ~ tabled in Parliament by Minister of Domestic
Trade and Consumer Affairs
10 July 2006 ~ passed by the members of Parliament
1 January 2007 ~ enforced

Objective : An Act to provide for

Legal recognition of electronic messages in commercial

transactions;
The use of the electronic messages to fulfill legal
requirements and;
To enable facilitate commercial transactions through the
use of electronic means and other matters connected
therewith.

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The future of e-commerce in Malaysia and the Asia region is
bright.

Governments and regulatory bodies are collaborating on a wider

platform to ensure e-commerce law, policy and regulations are
enforced to provide a guideline for traders to systematically
utilize e-commerce and in tandem ensure protection for e-
commerce users.

Thank You.

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