Over 1,500 cybersecurity incidents against Malaysian government infrastructure recorded

PETALING JAYA: Over 1,500 incidents of cyber security on government infrastructures were recorded as of September, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

Minister at the Prime Minister Office (Federal Territory) Dr Zaliha Mustafa said that 1,547 cases were successfully traced and handled through monitoring by several agencies, including the National Cybersecurity Agency (Nacsa), the National Security Council (NSC) and the Prime Minister’s Department (JPM).

“Nacsa, NSC, JPM would always assist other government agencies in terms of cyber security threat,” she said in a parliamentary written answer on Wednesday (Oct 30).

She was responding to a question by Datuk Suhaimi Nasir (BN- Libaran), who had asked the government to state the total incidence of cyber attacks on government infrastructure since 2022.

Dr Zaliha said that in 2022, there were 4,378 incidents of cyber attacks, while the figure was reduced to 1,633 incidents in 2023.

She added that various parties on the regional and international level assisted the relevant local agencies in safeguarding cybersecurity defence in Malaysia.

In 2023, the CyberSecurity Malaysia’s Mid-Year Threat Landscape Report revealed that the government sector accounted for 22% of breaches, followed by telecommunications at 9%.

In 2022, it was reported that the information of 22.5 million Malaysians born between 1940 and 2004 was stolen from the National Registration Department (NRD).

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said in March that following the Palestine and Israel conflict, Malaysia recorded an average of 3,000 cyberattacks a day.

There was an increase in cyberattacks made against the national security system following Malaysia’s support for Palestine, he said.