KUALA LUMPUR: A national 5G cybersecurity testing centre will be established to boost the nation's cyber threat combatting capabilities, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said today.
He said the collaboration agreement signed by Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) and Cybersecurity Malaysia (CSM) today aims to strengthen the digital landscape.
"This partnership entails development of 5G security guidelines, which will be utilized as a fundamental requirement for the industry and it serves as a guiding principle for future 5G infrastructure baselines.
"It also will see the establishment of a 5G cybersecurity testing center, as well as the exchange of threat intelligence information between the two entities to further strengthen the nation's cyber threat combat capabilities," he said during his speech at the signing ceremony at My5G Portal experience centre here, today.
Gobind said local cybercrime cases saw a significant shift and rise in numbers, nearly doubled from 10,753 in 2018 to 19,175 in 2022.
He said Malaysia experiences hundreds of millions of virus attacks annually, compromising a multitude of systems and user information.
He added that the Cybersecurity Act 2024, gazetted by the Attorney General's Chambers last June, will enhance the nation's cybersecurity through compliance with specific measures, standards, and processes in managing cybersecurity threats.
Gobind also noted that the legislation framework is a major milestone in strengthening Malaysia's cyber defences and enhancing resilience against emerging threats.
"The act, along with more awareness and vigilance among Malaysian digital consumers, as well as collaborative efforts will certainly help to protect us," he said.
Later at a press conference, Gobind said the ministry also proposed to establish a Data Commission which he hopes will be presented in the Parliament by early next year
"Moving ahead, we are going to seek more meetings of this nature, ask for them to tell us what we need to do, and hopefully, working together, we will build Malaysia to become a nation that is secure in the cyber realm," he said.
He also addressed the concerns regarding potential 5G price hike due to the introduction of a second network, saying that the price will be maintained the same as the current price.
"In the evaluation process, the price hike has been taken into account and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is indeed concerned about this issue.
"We have taken measures to ensure the price will follow the existing price but MCMC is looking into it and we'll have to wait and see what happens next," he said.