ACT 562
DIGITAL SIGNATURE ACT 1997

PART I - PRELIMINARY



Section 2. Interpretation.


(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

"accept a certificate " means —

"asymmetric cryptosystem " means an algorithm or series of algorithms which provide a secure key pair;

"authorised officer " means an officer authorised under section 75;

"certificate " means a computer-based record which —

"certification authority " means a person who issues a certificate;

"certification authority disclosure record " means an on-line and publicly accessible record which concerns a licensed certification authority which is kept by the Commission under subsection 3 (5);

"certification practice statement " means a declaration of the practices which a certification authority employs in issuing certificates generally, or employed in issuing a particular certificate;

"certify " means to declare with reference to a certificate, with ample opportunity to reflect, and with a duty to apprise oneself of all material facts;

"Commission " means the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission established under the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Act 1998 [Act 589 ];

"confirm " means to ascertain through diligent inquiry and investigation; "correspond ", with reference to keys, means to belong to the same key pair;

"digital signature " means a transformation of a message using an asymmetric cryptosystem such that a person having the initial
message and the signer 's public key can accurately determine —

"forge a digital signature " means —

"hold a private key " means to be able to utilise a private key;

"incorporate by reference " means to make one message a part of another message by identifying the message to be incorporated and expressing the intention that it be incorporated;

"issue a certificate " means the act of a certification authority in creating a certificate and notifying the subscriber listed in the
certificate of the contents of the certificate;

"key pair " means a private key and its corresponding public key in an asymmetric cryptosystem, where the public key can verify
a digital signature that the private key creates;

"licensed certification authority " means a certification authority to whom a licence has been issued by the Commission and whose licence is in effect;

"message " means a digital representation of information;

"notify " means to communicate a fact to another person in a manner reasonably likely under the circumstances to impart
knowledge of the information to the other person;

"person " means a natural person or a body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, capable of signing a document, either legally or as a matter of fact;

"prescribed " means prescribed by or under this Act or any regulations made under this Act;

"private key " means the key of a key pair used to create a digital signature;

"public key " means the key of a key pair used to verify a digital signature;

"publish " means to record or file in a repository;

"qualified certification authority " means a certification authority that satisfies the requirements under section 5;

"recipient " means a person who receives or has a digital signature and is in a position to rely on it;

"recognised date/time stamp service " means a date//time stamp service recognised by the Commission under section 70;

"recognised repository " means a repository recognised by the Commission under section 68;

"recommended reliance limit " means the monetary amount recommended for reliance on a certificate under section 60;

"repository " means a system for storing and retrieving certificates and other information relevant to digital signatures;

"revoke a certificate " means to make a certificate ineffective permanently from a specified time forward;

"rightfully hold a private key " means to be able to utilise a private key —

"subscriber " means a person who —

"suspend a certificate " means to make a certificate ineffective temporarily for a specified time forward;

"this Act " includes any regulations made under this Act;

"time-stamp " means —

"transactional certificate " means a certificate, incorporating by reference one or more digital signatures, issued and valid for a
specific transaction;

"trustworthy system " means computer hardware and software which —

"valid certificate " means a certificate which —

Provided that a transactional certificate is a valid certificate only in relation to the digital signature incorporated in it by reference;

"verify a digital signature " means, in relation to a given digital signature, message and public key, to determine accurately that —

"writing " or "written " includes any handwriting, typewriting, printing, electronic storage or transmission, or any other method
of recording information or fixing information in a form capable of being preserved.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, a certificate shall be revoked by making a notation to that effect on the certificate or by including
the certificate in a set of revoked certificates.

(3) The revocation of a certificate does not mean that it is destroyed or made illegible.

[Am.Act A1121.]





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