KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) recently faced a cyber attack from hackers who demanded US$10mil, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
"The cyber attack occurred one or two days ago. The government decided not to give in to the criminals. Instead, we are planning to allocate more funds to strengthen Malaysia’s cybersecurity systems.
"We discussed cyberattacks and hacking yesterday, and it was quite serious against MAHB in the past one or two days," he added during the 218th Police Day celebration at the Police Training Centre (Pulapol) on Tuesday (March 25).
Discussions were held to find solutions to resolve the issue, including the hackers' demands, Anwar said.
"I was informed, and thankfully, since it’s Ramadan, I didn’t even wait five seconds—I immediately answered no.
This country will never be safe if its leadership and systems allow us to submit to the ultimatums of criminals or traitors, whether from inside or outside the country," Anwar said.
However, the Prime Minister did not provide specific details about the cyber attack or whether it had been resolved.
While acknowledging the risks of such a decision, Anwar said the incident proved the need for the country to allocate more resources to the police and Bank Negara, among others, to prepare for cyber threats.
