All govt agencies told to be on high alert over hacking threat, says NSC

PETALING JAYA: All government agencies have been notified to take the necessary steps to prevent and minimise the impact of a hacking threat made by a hacker activist group, says the National Security Council (NSC).

It said the Prime Minister’s Department through the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) and the council were seriously looking at the threat to hack government websites as claimed in a viral video that was released by “Anonymous Malaysia” on social media.

"NSC and NACSA have released a notice warning all government agencies to take the necessary steps to prevent and minimise the impact of the threat," it said in a statement on Tuesday (Jan 26).

The NSC said they were also working closely with the police to coordinate and take the appropriate action.

“The government cares and prioritises the security of the government information infrastructure technology as well as the country’s critical systems by outlining steps to strengthen its information technology systems, including increasing knowledge and skills of relevant officers, ” it said.

It added that such measures have been outlined in the Malaysia Cyber Security Strategy that was launched last October.

On Monday (Jan 25), the hacker activist group claimed that they would be initiating attacks against Malaysian government websites soon.

“Anonymous Malaysia” claimed the attacks would be a “wake up call” as it demanded for the government to prevent more data leaks.

The group also claimed that the government’s “security system is low”, enabling hackers to sell the information due to data leakages.