KUALA LUMPUR: Location data collected by navigation application Waze could potentially be exploited to track individuals, including government officials, raising concerns over Malaysia’s national security, the National Security Council (MKN) has warned.
MKN director-general Raja Datuk Nushirwan Zainal Abidin said location information and movement patterns could become valuable intelligence if obtained by malicious parties.
He cited the killing of Iranian leaders as an example of how compromised systems and movement data could potentially be exploited to monitor targets.
Nushirwan said the government’s decision to prohibit civil servants from using Waze for official duties followed concerns over cybersecurity and the application’s terms of service, which subject certain disputes to Israeli law.
He also encouraged the public to consider protecting their personal data by reviewing their use of navigation applications.
As alternatives, civil servants can use Tuju, a locally developed navigation application by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM), as well as Google Maps and other suitable services.
Meanwhile, National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) chief executive Dr Megat Zuhairy Megat Tajuddin warned that artificial intelligence (AI) could make location data more powerful when used to analyse movement patterns and track government officials.
He said such information could serve legitimate purposes but could pose significant threats if exposed to criminals.
According to figures cited by Megat, Malaysia had 6.3 million Waze users in 2019, making it the application’s fifth-largest user base globally and the largest in ASEAN at the time.
The government remains committed to safeguarding national information sovereignty, strengthening cybersecurity and supporting the development of Malaysia’s local technology industry.
-AWANI
