Minister orders MCMC not to proceed with DNS redirection plan
Published: Sep 8, 2024 7:29 PM
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has been instructed to halt its plans to require all internet service providers (ISPs) to implement public domain name service (DNS) redirection by month-end.
Bernama reported Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil as saying this today.
He added that MCMC must continue engaging all stakeholders to obtain views, suggestions, and recommendations, ensuring that the objective of a safer internet can be achieved together.
Fahmi said the issue of online crime, including access to gambling websites, prostitution, and pornography, is very worrying and requires a comprehensive solution.
"The government will not compromise on this, to ensure online safety for Malaysians, especially children and families.
"However, taking into account the views conveyed through MCMC's engagement series as well as from the public, I have asked MCMC not to continue with the DNS implementation management routing method," he posted on X today.
Isu jenayah dalam talian termasuk akses ke laman-laman web perjudian, persundalan, pornografi dan seumpamanya amat membimbangkan dan memerlukan usaha penyelesaian yang menyeluruh.
Kerajaan tidak akan berkompromi dalam hal ini, demi menjamin keselamatan dalam talian buat rakyat… Show more
Yesterday, MCMC chief network security officer Mohamed Sulaiman Sultan Suhaibuddeen said the order for ISPs to redirect DNS traffic that uses third-party servers back to their own will not affect, disrupt or block users from browsing legitimate websites.
He said the websites affected by the action were those that violated Malaysian law, causing restrictions to be imposed so that Malaysians could not access them.
"Websites that do not have harmful content and do not have any issues can still be accessed as usual. The implementation of this directive aims to protect users from accessing websites with dangerous online content," he said at an explanation session on the DNS restriction issue in Cyberjaya, yesterday.
Objections to plan
However, some Pakatan Harapan leaders objected to the proposed move.
Lembah Jaya assemblyperson Syed Ahmad Syed Abdul Rahman Alhadad, better known as Altimet, called it draconian, while Kampung Tunku representative Lim Yi Wei said the plan amounted to censorship and posed cybersecurity risks, such as DNS poisoning.
Two days ago, it was reported that ISPs would be required to implement DNS redirection by the end of this month, according to the Maxis FAQ titled “Maxis Business DNS Redirection”.
The telco stated that this will affect entities using public DNS services, such as Google’s DNS (8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4) and Cloudflare’s DNS (1.1.1.1 or 1.0.0.1).
On Aug 6, digital rights group Sinar Project sounded the alarm after its testing found that some ISPs - including Maxis - had been surreptitiously redirecting DNS requests intended for third-party services, such as Google or Cloudflare, back to their servers.
Wakakakaka…
ReplyDelete"websites affected by the action were those that violated Malaysian law, causing restrictions to be imposed"
Who's doing the definitions for the legalities of those websites?
Who's watching the watcher?
Typically farts filled bolihland administration filled with hp6 & self-interest dickheads!