KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — The government is placing significant emphasis on cyber security threats, especially information leakage, cybercrime, technological vulnerabilities, and hacktivism.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said these threats have undermined the well-being of individuals and Malaysia’s critical infrastructure and businesses’ stability, destroyed the reputation of organisations, and caused financial losses, indirectly impacting the economy and the well-being of the nation and the people.
He said cyber criminals constantly seek to exploit weaknesses in systems, applications, or technology to achieve their agenda and gain profits.
As of October, a total of 2,674 cyber incidents had been reported to the National Cyber Coordination and Command Centre (NC4) under the National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa).
“Activities like Ransomware and Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) pose serious threats, especially from parties which may have geopolitical agendas,” Anwar said.
He made these remarks in his speech, which was read out by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, at the launch of the Capacity Development Programme and Public Dialogue on Cybersecurity Bill at the International Institute of Islamic Civilisation and Malay World today.
Anwar said the widespread use of devices and digital technology has heightened the risk of dynamic and complex cyber attacks, like phishing and Distribution of Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks.
“On a global scale, in 2021, the European Commission reported a total of 9.75 million DDoS attacks worldwide.
“Not only that, every 11 seconds an organisation faces a Ransomware attack. This reflects the current and escalating challenges of cyber threats,” he said.
Research by the European Commission revealed that 57 per cent of small and medium-scale enterprises would go out of business when facing a cyber attack, while in Germany, the cost related to cyber attacks on businesses in 2020 was estimated at 220 billion euros.
The conflict in Ukraine proves the effectiveness of cyber-attacks in achieving military objectives, and the cyber domain has become a powerful battleground, especially in the current era of hybrid warfare.
To enhance the management of national cyber security, Anwar said the government has also launched the Malaysia Cyber Security Strategy (MCSS) 2020-2024, which outlines comprehensively five main pillars with 12 strategies and 35 action plans to be implemented, aiming to create a safe, trustworthy, and resilient cyber environment, while promoting economic prosperity and improving the people’s well-being.
“This strategy also involves the implementation of various cyber security initiatives, including the formulation of the Cybersecurity Bill, and the development of capacity and capabilities of skilled professionals in the cybersecurity field, and to strengthen public-private cooperation and international relations,” he said.
Apart from that, the Prime Minister also emphasised the government’s high commitment to using information and communication technology as a river for national development.
In propelling the country towards digital economic progress, the main challenge which must be faced is cyber crimes and cyber security threats.
“The cyberspace is a new domain for the security and geopolitics of the country. State and non-state actors are using various mechanisms to undermine national security without the need for physical attacks, only through cyber attacks,” he added.
— Bernama
