KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 ― Celcom Axiata Bhd is working closely with the authorities to investigate reports of a mass scale data breach involving government agencies and key industries, including mobile telephone companies.
“Celcom Axiata Berhad continues to place utmost importance in protecting our customers’ data,” the mobile phone service said in a statement sent to Malay Mail Online.
“(We) are collaborating closely with MCMC (Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission) and relevant authorities on the investigation,” the company added.
News about the leak was made public in a report entitled “Personal data of millions of Malaysians up for sale, sources of breach still unknown”, published on the popular internet forum, LowYat.net last night.
The report claimed up to 50 million worth of personal data purportedly obtained from different sources had been stolen and auctioned online.
The writer also alleged that the load of the data appeared to have originated from telephone companies.
But the article has since been removed under MCMC’s instruction.
The regulator later explained in a statement that the order to take down the report as a “preventive measure”.
Celcom Axiata did not state if there had been any breach into its database prior to the release of the report.
