Ministry of Domestic Trade teams up with Microsoft and online e-tailers to combat counterfeit software
It is a rare thing for all of Malaysia’s largest e-tailers – 11street, Lazada, Lelong, Mudah and Logon gather in one place but gather they did as they all took part in a first-of-its-kind initiative to unite together to combat counterfeit software. They, along with representatives from Microsoft and representatives of the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-Operatives and Consumerism (MDTCC) today signed a memorandum of understanding along with a collective pledge to ensure that software sold on their respective platforms is authentic. To wit, Malaysia’s largest e-tailers aim to remove the sales of counterfeit Microsoft software which can potentially be loaded with malware, trojan horses and worse.
Tuan. Mohd. Roslan bin Mahayudin, DIrector of Enforcement, MTDCC said on this momentous occasion,”The Malaysian government has always put a high priority on digital development. WIth increasing access to the digital world, the importance of cyber security cannot be over emphasised. Our partnership with the online marketplaces and Microsoft Malaysia will play a pivotal role in ensuring that netizens are safe from unscrupulous individuals or criminal organisations who thrive on unsuspecting cyber victims.”
E-tailer 11street as part of the initiative also shared steps they have undertaken to combat the problem. Henry Ho, General Manager of Merchandising, 11street said,”We have a comprehensive risk management team that actively monitors vendor listings to combat counterfeit software and are working closely with Microsoft to reinforce and enhance our means to detect counterfeits. 11 street will continue to strive to be one of the top online marketplace for consumers.”
Hans-Peter Ressel, CEO of Lazada added that ,”We have advanced algorithms in place that monitor and flag unusual activity or behaviour which gets investigated by our risk management teams to eliminate counterfeit software from our vendors.” Hans added,”Battling counterfeit software is not just combating vendors but also an initiative to educate consumers on the risks of buying illegal software and identifying them.” This inaugural initiative is part of a genuine software initiative where users are able to logon to www.howtotell.com to find out if their software is genuine.