Defendants in data breach case file to strike out lawsuit

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Nuemera Sdn Bhd, a data security company have made an application to strike out a lawsuit filed by PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil over an alleged data breach.
Fahmi's lawyer Louis Liaw told reporters outside the courtroom that they were notified of the application made by the two defendants separately.
"MCMC is saying they have immunity under Section 272 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, and they should not be held responsible for implementing the minister's order. The company wants to strike out Fahmi's suit, saying he does not have the legal standing to sue them and the telcos should be the right parties to sue," he told reporters.
Fahmi who was present at court today said he was not upset and had anticipated that the defendants would attempt to strike out the suit.
"Our contention is the same, this is the worst case of data leak in Malaysia," he said.
The court has set March 26 for case management.
On March 6, the court had ordered MCMC and Nuemera to enter their defence over the data leak which affected some 46.2 million telco subscribers.
Fahmi had found out about the data leak and that his details were part of it in October 2017 after a few websites and news portals revealed the leak.
He is seeking general damages, costs and other relief deemed fit by the court in the suit that was filed on Feb 6 this year.