Cyber Threats In Malaysia Still Under Control

By Norshazlina Norazman KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- Cyber attacks and related-threats in the country are under control due to the commitment and cooperation of the various agencies in dealing with the problem. Communication and Multimedia Deputy Minister Jailani Johari said agencies such as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Cyber Security and the police were working closely to detect and eliminate cyber threats. "With all the threats eminent, be assured that the government is doing its very best to protect our citizens in cyber space...from the risks they face, and protect them from the threats. "We have been getting the regulators, policy makers and the law enforcers to work together to manage the risk at hand, and prevent cyber criminals from preying on innocent internet users," he told Bernama after launching the 3rd Annual Information Security Summit here. The two-day summit which kicks off Tuesday, brings together key corporate security decision makers to discuss the strategic priorities, potential risk factors and threats, and provide guidance on how industry experts respond to these denunciatory challenges. Jailani said the Malaysia Computer Emergency Response Team (MyCERT) 2nd Quarter 2013 Summary Report had disclosed that from April to June this year, its Cyber999 service handled a total of 3,093 incidents representing a 23.7 per cent increase, as compared to the first quarter of the year. He said, in the second quarter of 2013, incidents such as fraud, content-related, malicious codes, intrusion and cyber harassment had increased while other incidents had decreased moderately. He said these increasing number of cybercrime incidents were worrisome as they could potentially cripple the social well-being and economic development of the country. "While no serious case had occurred in the country so far, it is crucial for us to look into the security of the internet user, while we must always be well-prepared and plan every contingency, such as strengthening the filtering and networking system to avoid being hacked. "I believe that other ministries have their own filtering system which is capable of ensuring their data inside the cyberspace is safe from hackers," added Jailani. Citing an example, the deputy minister said that in 2011, a group of hackers known as 'Anonymous' had launched a coordinated attack which involved a total of 200 websites, 60 per cent of which belonged to the government. "However, the attack had little impact on Malaysian users as the government had prepared for the worst, and because the attacks were on informational websites, and not transactional," he said. Meanwhile, Jailani said, with the joint effort of the MCMC, police and Bank Negara (Central Bank), a total of 2,611 phishing sites were shut down last year. He said while the total number of phishing sites taken down from January to May this year, stood at 652, as compared to 835 in the same period last year, the reduction clearly showed that enforcement activities were effective. -- BERNAMA