AT a time when almost everything we do involves going online, Malaysia is in need of better defences in the virtual world.
An extra 6,000 cybersecurity workers are needed in Malaysia’s workforce in the next three years to combat the growing number of attacks online.
As at September this year, we have 14,240 cybersecurity workers, trained by CyberSecurity Malaysia, the country’s national cybersecurity specialist agency.
But that’s still not enough, as Malaysia needs 20,000 workers trained in cybersecurity by 2025 – meaning, we need another 5,760 workers.
“Today’s cybersecurity talent is still insufficient to support industry needs,” says CyberSecurity Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab in an interview.
“This includes the gap between the quality of students and the expectations in the industry. This is due to most students being educated through theory instead of hands-on experience.”
Skills which are currently in demand here involve data security, risk management and others, he adds.
“Most organisations are investing their training budget in improving their staff members in these areas to face current and future cybersecurity threats.
“Organisations need to ensure their assets are secure and aim to minimise the downtime of their services should they encounter any crisis,” he explains.
The need for more cybersecurity experts is fuelled by the high number of online threats today.
There were 6,002 cybersecurity incidents reported to the agency so far this year, until September. However, the number of cases in a year have been steadily surpassing 10,000 since 2018, spelling out the need to beef up protection in cyberspace.
And so it’s timely that CyberSecurity Malaysia, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, has plans to grow even bigger to tackle evolving cybercrimes.
“CyberSecurity Malaysia will expand in terms of manpower, roles and services.
“As Malaysia is committed to cybersecurity, various national strategies and other initiatives are being developed to address the matter in the country,” Amirudin says.
This includes efforts by the agency’s help centre which is known as MyCERT (Malaysia Computer Emergency Response Team) and which has been operating since 1997.
Adding to the agency’s strength, Budget 2023 that was tabled on Oct 7 saw CyberSecurity Malaysia being allocated RM73mil to improve monitoring, detection and forensic capabilities to combat cybercrime. (Since the 15th General Election was called after that, the Budget will have to be retabled by whichever party or parties form the new government.)
“If the Budget is passed, we will use the funds to build the country’s technical capabilities in cybersecurity and law enforcement against cybercrime, which is becoming more prevalent in the country today,” says Amirudin.
Online fraud is tops for five years
Malaysia must certainly do more to stop its No.1 cybercrime, fraud.
Online fraud consistently tops the list of cybercrimes, with the highest number of cases reported over the past five years, says Amirudin.
“Such cases usually happen when a victim is deceived or financially cheated by a perpetrator,” he says.
From January to September this year, 3,922 incidents of fraud were reported to MyCert, making up the bulk – or 65% – of the total number of 6,002 cybersecurity cases. This means an average of 15 online fraud cases have happened every day in this year so far.
It doesn’t help that very few Malaysian users are aware that their data and privacy are being compromised online.
“Almost every person owns at least one digital device. There is greater interest among the public regarding cybersecurity, but their focus is on ecommerce and social media.
“Users still do not take security seriously when it comes to data protection,” Amirudin says.
Today, a person’s online privacy is easily exposed but, fortunately, it can still be controlled by the user, he points out.
“The keyword here is ‘user’. Privacy is set by the users themselves, who decide how much of it they are willing to sacrifice,” he says, adding that more users should take action to reduce risks.
To top it off, it’s tougher to stop cybercriminals as cross-border cyberattacks and criminal activities present some legal challenges among nations.
“There is no specific sovereignty that controls cyberspace.
“Although many rules and regulations have been passed, the open and sometimes unregulated nature of the Internet and the irrelevance of geographical boundaries has made cyberspace a haven for criminals and their activities,” Amirudin says.
A step forward
With 25 years of experience dealing with cyberattacks since it was set up, CyberSecurity Malaysia still has much to do in the near future.
Amirudin says the agency will continue to increase efforts to advance the field of online security here through innovation, research and development.
“We will continue to build protection to repel cyber attacks such as intrusions and hacking that cause data leaks, disruptions to network systems as well as threats to Malaysian users,” Amirudin adds.
Data breaches are becoming more rampant, he says, and there are many factors that have led to the growth of such incidents, like attacks from malicious software or malware.
“Such malware, like ransomware, targets large public organisations and companies that handle and hold sensitive information of many users.
“Once these systems are compromised with malware, hackers are able to extract a lot of information to publish and sell on the dark web,” he explains.
Other factors are mostly due to human error, such as fraud and phishing attacks, in which users are tricked into providing sensitive details to gain access to databases.
It’s good to note that the agency is also authorised to audit, evaluate and enforce cybersecurity standards not only in the government sector but in the industry as well.
“This is a step forward to ensure organisations in Malaysia continuously monitor and enhance their cybersecurity capability to stay on par with current trends,” says Amirudin.
CyberSecurity Malaysia – which has been accredited by international police cooperation facilitating agency Interpol for its contribution in digital forensics – also trains and certifies people through its CyberGuru and the Global Ace Scheme.
“We also work closely with higher learning institutions like Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Utara Malaysia to produce fresh graduates focusing on cybersecurity,” Amirudin says.
Other efforts by the agency to strengthen cybersecurity include carrying out awareness programmes among users on technological and social issues, particularly online dangers.
“No single entity can act alone in this digital age.
“The public and private sectors need to work closely across all areas to address cybersecurity, as we face a rapid, ever changing virtual environment today,” he says.
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