Malaysia Banning Cellphones in Government Offices

A local report has said that Malaysia's government has banned the use of mobile phones in some of its offices to prevent spying. Chief Security Officer Johari Jamaluddin said no breaches had yet been detected but the prevalence of electronic devices raised fears of information leaks, the Star newspaper reported.

"We had never felt the need to come up with such a ban before because the use of camera handphones and other electronic devices was not rampant," Johari was quoted as saying.

"Now, everyone seems to have them," he said. "It is a bit inconvenient but for the sake of the country's security, everyone has to play their role."

The paper also said that the government is deploying jamming equipment in "information security zones" where confidential conversations occur - and could be broadcast though a phone which is switched on at the time.

"As everybody knows, these handphones and communication devices have become necessary items for people working in all government agencies," Sidek was quoted as saying in the circular.

"The widespread use of these devices, especially handphones with camera facilities, has serious implications on security," he said. "These devices can be abused to gather or even transmit information in any form, including unauthorised data or digital images."

Companies have become increasingly wary of the potential for camera phones to be used to photograph sensitive information - with Samsung for example requiring that cameraphones have a blocking sticker placed over the lens when visiting its factories."

Posted to the site on 17th April 2007