Malaysia's communications regulator has defended a plan for local telecommunications firms to re-route web traffic through their own domain name system (DNS) servers, saying the move was meant to protect users from harmful online content.

The directive, which takes effect on Sept. 30, has prompted new concerns, including from some ruling party officials, of growing online censorship and fears that it could jeopardise the country's digital economy.

DNS is a system that translates domain names into numerical addresses used by computers to locate websites on the internet.

While local internet service providers, or ISPs, often operate their own DNS servers, some web users use public DNS servers, such as those provided by Google or Cloudflare, to gain faster internet speeds or access websites blocked on local ISPs.

Under the government plan, user requests from such third-party DNS servers will be redirected to those operated by&nbsp;Malaysian ISPs.

In a statement late on Saturday, the&nbsp;Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) denied the measure was "draconian", saying it was aimed at protecting vulnerable groups from malicious or harmful content, such as online gambling, pornography, copyright infringements, phishing or financial scams.

"DNS redirection ensures that harmful websites are blocked while legitimate websites remain reachable without noticeable disruption," MCMC said, adding that it had blocked 24,277 websites between 2018 and Aug. 1, 2024 to protect users' safety.

Users facing trouble accessing sites could file a complaint to ISPs, while blocked websites can appeal to regulators, it said.

State assemblyman Syed Ahmad Syed Abdul Rahman Alhadad, a member of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's People's Justice Party, had called the plan "draconian", saying it could negatively effect&nbsp;Malaysia's digital economy - which has been boosted this year by large investments from major tech firms such as Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, and Google.

Lim Yi Wei, an assemblywoman from the Democratic Action Party, part of Anwar's ruling coalition, said the plan amounted to censorship and posed cybersecurity risks such as DNS poisoning, where web traffic could be redirected by hackers.

The move comes amid heightened scrutiny of online content under Anwar, who ran on a progressive platform before being voted into power in 2022.

An Asian industry group that includes major tech firms such as Meta, Google and X last month urged&nbsp;Malaysia&nbsp;to pause a plan to license social media platforms, citing a lack of clarity over the proposed regulations.

Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION&nbsp;audience. 
&nbsp;

Malaysia's communications regulator has defended a plan for local telecommunications firms to re-route web traffic through their own domain name system (DNS) servers, saying the move was meant to protect users from harmful online content.

Malaysia's communications regulator has defended a plan for local telecommunications firms to re-route web traffic through their own domain name system (DNS) servers, saying the move was meant to protect users from harmful online content. The directive, which takes effect on Sept. 30, has prompted new concerns, including from some ruling party officials, of growing online censorship and fears that it could jeopardise the country's digital economy. DNS is a system that translates domain names into numerical addresses used by computers to locate websites on the internet. While local internet service providers, or ISPs, often operate their own DNS servers, some web users use public DNS servers, such as those provided by Google or Cloudflare, to gain faster internet speeds or access websites blocked on local ISPs. Under the government plan, user requests from such third-party DNS servers will be redirected to those operated by Malaysian ISPs. In a statement late on Saturday, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) denied the measure was "draconian", saying it was aimed at protecting vulnerable groups from malicious or harmful content, such as online gambling, pornography, copyright infringements, phishing or financial scams. "DNS redirection ensures that harmful websites are blocked while legitimate websites remain reachable without noticeable disruption," MCMC said, adding that it had blocked 24,277 websites between 2018 and Aug. 1, 2024 to protect users' safety. Users facing trouble accessing sites could file a complaint to ISPs, while blocked websites can appeal to regulators, it said. State assemblyman Syed Ahmad Syed Abdul Rahman Alhadad, a member of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's People's Justice Party, had called the plan "draconian", saying it could negatively effect Malaysia's digital economy - which has been boosted this year by large investments from major tech firms such as Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, and Google. Lim Yi Wei, an assemblywoman from the Democratic Action Party, part of Anwar's ruling coalition, said the plan amounted to censorship and posed cybersecurity risks such as DNS poisoning, where web traffic could be redirected by hackers. The move comes amid heightened scrutiny of online content under Anwar, who ran on a progressive platform before being voted into power in 2022. An Asian industry group that includes major tech firms such as Meta, Google and X last month urged Malaysia to pause a plan to license social media platforms, citing a lack of clarity over the proposed regulations. Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.

Malaysia defends web traffic re-routing plan against online censorship concerns

Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has approved the first-ever change of cryptographic key that helps protect Domain Name System (DNS) which may affect&nbsp;thousands of network operators around the world, the organization said in a statement.

Domain Name System (DNS) is Internet's address book, a key source to keep the world wide web working seamlessly.&nbsp;

"Some Internet users might be affected if the network operators or Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have not prepared for the roll," ICANN said. The Intenet is set to be affected from today for a few days.

Reports said the change could lead to internet shutting down in several areas around the world affecting millions of people, however, the scale is likely to stay under control with ICANN declaring that "even in the worst case, all they have to do to fix the problem is, turn off DNSSEC validation, install the new key, and reenable DNSSEC and their users will again have full connectivity to the DNS."

Media reports indicated that the organization expects about one per cent of the world’s internet users to be affected which is approximately 36 million users who could experience a total internet crash, however, this too can be fixed&nbsp;if a user reboots the system or in the&nbsp;worst case scenario contacts&nbsp;the service provider who can&nbsp;help to solve the problem.

"The changing of the DNS root key was originally scheduled to happen a year ago, but plans were put on hold after the ICANN found and began analyzing some new, last-minute data. That data dealt with the potential readiness of network operators for the key roll,"&nbsp;it said.

"This is the first root key change, but it won't be the last," said Matt Larson, vice-president of research at ICANN and the organization's point person for the key roll.

"This is the first time, so naturally we are bending over backwards to make certain that everything goes as smoothly as possible, but as we do more key rollovers in the future, the network operators, ISPs, and others will become more accustomed to the practice," Larson added.

During a September 16th meeting in Belgium, the ICANN board passed a resolution, directing the organization to proceed with its plans to change or "roll" the key for the DNS root on 11 October 2018, ICAAN informed.

Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has approved the first-ever change of cryptographic key that helps protect Domain Name System (DNS) which may affect thousands of network operators around the world, the organization said in a statement.

Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has approved the first-ever change of cryptographic key that helps protect Domain Name System (DNS) which may affect thousands of network operators around the world, the organization said in a statement. Domain Name System (DNS) is Internet's address book, a key source to keep the world wide web working seamlessly. "Some Internet users might be affected if the network operators or Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have not prepared for the roll," ICANN said. The Intenet is set to be affected from today for a few days. Reports said the change could lead to internet shutting down in several areas around the world affecting millions of people, however, the scale is likely to stay under control with ICANN declaring that "even in the worst case, all they have to do to fix the problem is, turn off DNSSEC validation, install the new key, and reenable DNSSEC and their users will again have full connectivity to the DNS." Media reports indicated that the organization expects about one per cent of the world’s internet users to be affected which is approximately 36 million users who could experience a total internet crash, however, this too can be fixed if a user reboots the system or in the worst case scenario contacts the service provider who can help to solve the problem. "The changing of the DNS root key was originally scheduled to happen a year ago, but plans were put on hold after the ICANN found and began analyzing some new, last-minute data. That data dealt with the potential readiness of network operators for the key roll," it said. "This is the first root key change, but it won't be the last," said Matt Larson, vice-president of research at ICANN and the organization's point person for the key roll. "This is the first time, so naturally we are bending over backwards to make certain that everything goes as smoothly as possible, but as we do more key rollovers in the future, the network operators, ISPs, and others will become more accustomed to the practice," Larson added. During a September 16th meeting in Belgium, the ICANN board passed a resolution, directing the organization to proceed with its plans to change or "roll" the key for the DNS root on 11 October 2018, ICAAN informed.

Internet may be affected from today, but will be under control: ICANN

Dns, News on Dns, stories on Dns, articles on Dns, Dns stories at Wion, Dns news, Dns latest news

dns

Malaysia defends web traffic re-routing plan against online censorship concerns

Internet may be affected from today, but will be under control: ICANN