Be vigilant against risks when working from home during MCO, says CyberSecurity Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: If you are working from home during the current movement control order (MCO), be sure to follow best practices to reduce risks of any cyberattacks, says CyberSecurity Malaysia.

“With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, many organisations in the civil and private sector have allowed employees to work from home to ensure continuity of businesses and operations.

“This move increases the usage of technology among workers.

“As such, it can also heighten cyber risks associated with data and services of the organisations remotely accessed by employees, ” the agency said in a statement Saturday (March 21).

It said unsafe practices could compromise cybersecurity, resulting in incidents such as data breaches, unauthorised access by hackers, malware related activities and compromises in business emails.

“Most risks are due to an organisation’s unsecured network configuration, lack of cybersecurity awareness and vulnerable or outdated end user systems, ” CyberSecurity Malaysia said.

The agency advised all organisations and individuals to follow best practices to reduce cyber risks associated with working from home, or users having remote access to the system.

“Ensure all systems are updated with the latest security patches.

“This includes the Virtual Private Network (VPN) being used to access internal systems from outside the office, network infrastructure devices and devices used for remote access, ” it urged.

Workers should also be alerted to expect an increase in phishing attempts.

Phishing is an attempt used by cybercriminals to gain sensitive information like passwords and credit card details by disguising themselves as a trustworthy entity.

“Individual users should avoid logging into your work system using a public internet Wi-Fi. Connect either through your home or mobile network data, ” urged CyberSecurity Malaysia.

Aside from that, users should ensure their passwords are updated and where applicable, organisations may also implement Multi-Factor Authentication.

“Be on the lookout for suspicious activities.

“Cybercriminals tend to take advantage of global events and issues to conduct malicious activities targeting users and organisations.

“Individuals are encouraged to report any suspicious behaviours to their respective IT Department, ” it said.

The public can also lodge a report to the agency’s emergency response team, MyCERT through its Cyber999 service by contacting its 24 hour hotline at 0192665850.

For more information, visit www.mycert.org.my.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysia is currently implementing the MCO from March 18 to 31 in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus.

This move has seen many companies allowing workers to operate from home to enable social distancing during this period.