Compiled by JUNAID IBRAHIM and ALLISON LAI
PERSONAL devices owned by civil servants from various agencies, including defence, tourism, finance and medical, have become targets of hacking, said the Armed Forces’ Defence Cyber and Electromagnetic Division.
Berita Harian reported the division’s director-general Rear Admiral Datuk Mohd Fadzli Kamal Mohd Mohaldin as saying that there had been increased cyber threats following the recent tensions in the South China Sea.
The cyber attacks, he said, had been taking place on a daily basis and the hackers were not only aiming for sensitive data kept in personal devices, but were also monitoring Malaysia’s security and defence systems.
“This is mainly because civil servants usually keep information or documents in their personal devices. While they do not intend to share the information with anyone, when those devices are connected to a public Internet network, they become exposed to the risk of hacking.
“The hackers can access any data and their attempts are not limited only to the Armed Forces but other sectors such as finance, tourism and medical too, which we found alarming,” he said.
Rear Admiral Mohd Fadzli said the Armed Forces had detected two types of hacking activities – personal and those linked to an organisation.
Much of the hacking was done on an opportunistic basis or randomly and was the work of individual hackers, who would then sell the data in the black market, he said.
“We also detected attempts by organisations but couldn’t pinpoint them,” he added.
In a related report, Rear Admiral Mohd Fadzli said the Armed Forces had always been ready to face any cyber threats on the defence system, especially with Malaysia’s firm stand on Palestine.“When our country expresses its support on any world affairs, there must be some parties who are not happy about it,” he said.
> Actor Amir Ahnaf, who is notable for portraying a bully in a local TV series, was himself a victim of bullying at school, Harian Metro reported.
“I was bullied in boarding school from Forms One to Two and the experience affected me.
“I have overcome the traumatic experience and know myself better now,” said the 24-year-old, who will be starring in Kahar Kapla High School, a prequel film of the popular TV series Project High Council, in which he played the main antagonist.
The Terengganu native said he wanted to spread awareness of bullying through his work.
“If we have suffered and not dealt with the trauma properly, we will pass on the pain to our children. So now we will spread awareness through movies,” he said.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
