SINGAPORE: The Malaysian government has been proactive in addressing the ever-evolving cybersecurity threats in the country, says McAfee, the world’s largest dedicated security technology company.
Citing CyberSecurity Malaysia’s statistics, Vice President, Consumer, Asia Pacific, David Freer said cybercrime in Malaysia was rising, with a reported 20 per cent increase in cyber fraud cases so far, compared to 2015.
“With the increasing adoption of connected devices, the threat will continue to mount,” he told Bernama.
He said it was heartening to see the government stepping up to help with the cybersecurity framework by creating regulations, offering directives to citizens and organisations to be better stewards in securing data.
In this regard, Freer said McAfee was fully committed to supporting Malaysia in these initiatives.
Headquartered in California, the company recently appointed Ian Yip as Chief Technology Officer for the Asia Pacific to drive it forward to benefit individuals, organisations and the Malaysian government, going forward.
“Essentially, all stakeholders should come together by working as one, to combat the ever-evolving threat landscape,” said Freer.
He highlighted that as with all countries around the region, Malaysia is on high alert over the WannaCry ransomware attacks and Adylkuzz malware attacks from spreading.
He said to-date, there had been two reports of the WannaCry ransomware attack in Malaysia, which affected an academic institution and a private organisation.
“To safeguard themselves from current and future attacks, organisations are reminded to take the necessary precautionary measures by practicing cybersecurity best practices and keeping their systems up to date with the latest software,” he added.
Freer said it was paramount for the government, organisations, businesses and consumers to work closely together to safeguard against threats.
He urged organisations and businesses in Malaysia to not only adopt good cybersecurity practices internally, but also have an aggressive patching plan to mitigate against vulnerabilities that could lead to cyberattacks.
“Internal IT teams need to understand for each patch, what the levels of risk are, and then make a decision that minimises risk to the organisation and stakeholders.
“Stakeholders can also include other businesses, the government and consumers who use their products, services or solutions,” Freer said. – Bernama