Kazakh Senate approves amendments to draft law on information security

Kazakh Senate approves amendments to draft law on information security

Kazakhstan’s state agencies will be prohibited from collecting copies of citizens’ identity cards. Immigrants, on the contrary, will be obliged to provide them in the interest of protecting national security. Additionally, Kazakh citizens will now be eligible to voluntarily decline bank loans and microcredits through the eGov.kz portal to protect themselves from fraudulent activities. These and several other amendments to the draft law on information security issues were approved by members of the Senate, an upper house of the Kazakh Parliament, in the second reading today. Changes and additions were made to the country’s four codes and ten laws in total. According to MPs, the amendments aim to enhance personal data protection and eliminate legal gaps in the regulation of digital mining activities. They outline procedures for revocation, suspension, and renewal of licenses to carry out such activities. Mazhilis Member Yekaterina Smyshlyayeva clarified the main legislative updates.

“The first amendment involves the introduction of the State Control Institute in the field of personal data protection. The second one addresses the legal regulation of the work of information system researchers, also known as white hat hackers. The BugBounty program has been in operation in a pilot mode for the past two years. A state information security center is being established under the State Technical Service. Also, there are changes in the procedure for reporting data breaches,” Smyshlyayeva informed.