Practise safe Internet use this festive season, advises cyber security agency

SHAH ALAM: CyberSecurity Malaysia, the national cyber security specialist and technical agency, is advising Internet users across country to be extra cautious during this festive season.

In a statement issued to the media, CyberSecurity Malaysia reminds the public to always be careful and to practise ethical culture while using the Internet, including social media applications.

“In this digital era, safeguarding one’s safety not only involves driving a vehicle, riding a motorcycle, cooking and so on, but also includes security in cyberspace when surfing the Internet or using social media applications such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and so on,” its chief executive officer Dato Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab said.

He said many people use smartphones and digital gadgets for various purposes such as chatting, searching for information, entertainment, watching videos, playing online games, doing online purchases, banking activities and interacting via Internet links.

He added that smartphones and Internet facilities create a channel for cyber criminals to trick, hack, trespass, steal information, blackmail, bully and commit various other cyber crimes.

“This year, it was found that the increase in cyber security incidents significantly began in March until May, totaling 2,713 incidents. Most reported incidents involved fraud, invasions, malware infections and cyber disruptions.”

Among the practices that Internet users can take during the festive season is to not click on any links as well as image or video attachments received via email or social media platforms ( Facebook, WhatsApp, Wechat, Twitter etc) as the link and the image/video may contain malware.

“At the same time, always ensure that your digital gadgets (smartphones, laptops, PCs) and your browser are up-to- date with the latest improvements and security patches, and install anti-virus software on personal computers.”

Those who encounter problems or cyber security incidents during the festival period can report the incident to Cyber999 by emailing cyber999@ cybersecurity.my, or by calling 1- 300- 88- 2999 ( office hours), 03- 89453442 ( Fax), 0192665850 (24-hour reporting), SMS ‘cyber999 report email complaint’ to 15888, or visit http://www. mycert.org.my.