The National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) today raised the national cybersecurity threat level from “low” to “medium”.
The National Security Council (MKN) said the move was a precaution in light of current security developments, aimed at keeping the country’s essential services running.
Nacsa has met sector heads and entities in the national critical information infrastructure (NCII), and all NCII entities have been told to implement nine preparedness measures, including round-the-clock monitoring, system patching, multi-factor authentication and updated service continuity plans. NCII sector heads must also submit weekly threat status reports to Nacsa.
The council said the statement followed remarks by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 3 on national security preparedness amid evolving geopolitical conflicts and regional and international tensions. The measures were also presented at a special meeting of ministry secretaries-general and heads of service yesterday.
Nacsa’s National Cyber Coordination and Control Centre (NC4) issued eight alerts and advisories last month on vulnerabilities affecting NCII entities and government agencies, and continues to monitor them.
Anwar had earlier said Malaysia was among the countries that could be targeted for cyberattacks because of the strength of its digital infrastructure and data centres, as well as the government’s firm stance on international issues, particularly Palestine and Gaza. He said the assessment was based on government intelligence and that not all details could be made public.