Safer secure cyber space protects businesses

CYBERJAYA: There are various cybersecurity-related risks that could jeopardise businesses these days if the importance of cybersecurity is ignored, CyberSecurity Malaysia’s (CSM) chief executive officer, Datuk Dr Amiruddin Abdul Wahab said.

He added, currently, cybersecurity is being perceived as a cost rather than an investment.

Such a mindset should change, he stressed, adding that a good security system is not only crucial for businesses to be secured but would also instil confidence among its stakeholders.

“Businesses cannot ignore cybersecurity issues, especially now that we are all talking about the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where industries are trying to adapt to fast-changing technologies,” he told Bernama in a special interview at the agency’s new building in Cyberjaya.

Hence, cybersecurity should be a default feature in all businesses regardless of the size, and not as an afterthought, he stressed.

He noted that while that does not mean that Malaysia would be isolated from cybercriminals, having a secure cyber space would reduce the impact of potential cyber attacks that are getting more sophisticated.

“Even though Malaysia has expertise (in cyber security) and good infrastructure, this does not mean we can avoid threats from malware.

“Because of this sophistication, we are favoured by criminals. Of course, they won’t go to countries with under-developed infrastructure, with slow broadband,” he explained.

According to CSM’s general incident classification statistics, there were nine categories of cybercrime, namely; content related, cyber harassment, denial of services, fraud, intrusion, intrusion attempt, malicious code, spam and vulnerabilities report. — Bernama