WhatsApp groups a major risk for personal data leaks, says expert

Free Malaysia Today

Ian Tan says WhatsApp groups expose users’ names, phone numbers and sensitive details, making them prime targets for scams and unsolicited messages.  Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/03/17/whatsapp-groups-a-major-risk-for-personal-data-leaks-says-expert/  Laporan Lanjut: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2025/03/17/data-peribadi-berisiko-besar-bocor-dalam-kumpulan-whatsapp-kata-pakar/  Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5 Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #WhatsApp #PersonalData #InformationLeaks

Transcript

00:00An expert has warned that WhatsApp groups pose a major risk to personal data security,

00:07making users vulnerable to scams and unsolicited messages.

00:11Ian Tan, head of the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences at Heriot-Watt University,

00:17Malaysia, said messaging platforms like WhatsApp are among the biggest sources of data leaks.

00:22He said the sharing of sensitive details like names, unit numbers and phone numbers in WhatsApp

00:27groups makes it difficult to control information leaks.

00:31On March 2, digital risk management company Gogolook reported that Malaysia recorded the

00:37highest rate of personal data leaks among key Asian markets, including Taiwan, Thailand,

00:43Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

00:47Meanwhile, Murugesan Thangkaratnam, CEO of cybersecurity company NovumCS, advised users

00:54to avoid clicking on suspicious links and using public Wi-Fi for transactions.

00:59He also said users should adopt strong passwords with multi-factor authentication to prevent scams.

01:06Murugesan said cybersecurity laws have improved, citing the recently enacted Cybersecurity

01:12Act 2024 and the past amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act.

01:17However, Thang warned that while these updates are a step forward, they may not be enough

01:22to keep up with rapidly evolving cyber threats.

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