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.
