KUALA LUMPUR: The cyber attacks that hit Europe by exploiting refrigeration management system vulnerabilities and spoiling thousands of tonnes of fresh food products should serve as a lesson for Malaysia's domestic ecosystem, according to an expert.
Dr Siti Nurhayati Khairatun Mohd Sharif, a senior lecturer at the Department of Food Service Management under Universiti Putra Malaysia's (UPM) Food Science and Technology Faculty, said that in the Malaysian context, the National Agrofood Policy 2021-2030 (DAN 2.0) is actively driving smart agriculture, digital automation, and integrated logistics.
"Mega food distribution centres, major ports such as Port Klang and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, cold storage warehouses, and the country's poultry and livestock processing complexes are now heavily reliant on digital automation," she said in a statement Thursday (Nov 5).
Siti Nurhayati Khairatun said neglecting the defence systems of national food stockpiles could trigger a supply crisis, panic buying, and food price spikes, as well as undermine consumer confidence in the country's cybersecurity governance.
"Therefore, the incident in Europe must serve as a strategic warning to Malaysia. The food supply chain must be comprehensively recognised and strengthened under the scope of National Critical Information Infrastructure (NCII) under the Cyber Security Act 2024.
"Although the national cybersecurity threat alert level has been heightened as a proactive government measure to ward off cyberattacks, preparedness must remain at its peak to avoid large-scale losses to the country's food supply stocks," she said.
Siti Nurhayati Khairatun noted that the incident in Europe has also challenged the conventional definition of food security, which has traditionally focused on climate change, geopolitical stability, and physical logistical constraints.
She said regular audits of operational technology integrity in food warehouses and agrofood crisis preparedness drills must therefore be coordinated across security agencies and industry sectors.
"Food security in this century no longer depends solely on soil fertility or weather stability, but is also closely linked to the resilience of verification codes and robust cyber infrastructure security," she said. - Bernama
