PETALING JAYA – The country could do with its own national internet registry to better combat cybersecurity threats as well as its own Internet Protocol Version (IPv), said Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) officer Derek Fernandez.
Currently, he said, the country is in the process of switching from the IPv4 system to IPv6, for stricter regulations and protocols.
The IPv6 is a protocol that gives a unique IP address for each user and allows more devices to be connected, as well as larger address space for better multimedia security, performance and auto-configuration capabilities.
“A country’s sovereignty depends on its ability to control their own IPv and the addresses that come under the system, since the data is part of a country’s assets.
“Currently, we are allowed to have our own control of this data, as empowered by the MCMC Act 1985. However, we can better manage and control our data and multimedia assets, if we have our own national internet registry.
“For now, we have to apply to an international governing body whenever it involves IP addresses.
“But we have also applied to have our own registry. I believe every sovereign nation should have their own,” he told reporters when met after delivering his opening speech at the Asia Pacific Certified IPV6 Migration Strategy for Regulators and Governing Authorities conference, here today.
In his speech, Fernandez emphasised the importance for a country to have its own body administering its digital resources, as it is critical to national security and economic development.
“The control of addresses for the transmitting, communication, information and data services using a particular IP address, in your own country, must belong to you.
“These data cannot, should not and must not belong to any other country except the nation in which those addresses are for.
“In my view, I believe that the government, through MCMC, has embarked on its move to create the national internet registry and I do hope that the other countries would follow suit.”
Fernandez, who is also MCMC’s Online Harms and Information Security Committee chairman, said the two-day conference involves the meeting of minds, with representatives from the Asia Pacific region coming together for a fruitful discussion on the IPv6 concept and how their countries can best adopt the protocol.
Currently, he said, Malaysia is among the top three countries in the world that are waiting to fully convert its IPv system to IPv6. – June 20, 2024