KUALA LUMPUR: Cyber security should be every nation's top agenda as it battles the rise of borderless cybercrimes that come with threats, risks and vulnerabilities as the people become heavily reliant on digital technology amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said on the local front, cyber crimes continue to climb in the past three years, proving to be a problem that warranted serious attention.
As more Malaysians increasingly use digital technology to embark on e-commerce, online classrooms and to enhance efficiency, Muhyiddin said irresponsible cyber criminals are also at work exploiting the situation with their malicious intentions.
"It has become an issue that no country can solve alone. We must be mindful that cyber threats know no borders. They have become more sophisticated and complicated than ever.
"We cannot escape anymore from emphasising on the elements of cyber security in each and every initiative.
"Cyber security should become the priority of every nation, especially on matters underlying economic and national security," he said today.
He said this when launching the biennial international Cyber Defence and Security Exhibition and Conference 2021 (Cydes 2021) online today which sees cyber security experts sharing best practices and latest available technologies in fighting cybercrimes.
Back in 2019, the country's cyber incidents were recorded at 3,787 and rose 10 per cent to 4,194 in 2020, he said.
"This year, the number is expected to surge further as can be seen in the first quarter of this year alone where 1,300 cyber incidents have been reported.
"Cyber crimes have also shown an upward trend. Statistics by the police showed that in 2019, the number of cyber crimes reported was 11,875 cases with RM498 million losses.
"Last year, the cases climbed to 14,229 with total losses of RM413 million. In the first quarter of this year, the cases logged were 4,327 with a loss of RM77 million.
"Although the losses associated with cyber crimes seemed to be declining in the past three years, the worrying fact is that the number of cases continues to surge," he said.
To accelerate the nation's economic growth, Muhyiddin said MyDigital was launched in February this year to encourage Malaysians to embrace digitalisation and seize opportunities to improve their standard of living.
MyDigital, he said, is a national initiative which symbolises the aspiration of the government to successfully transform Malaysians into a digitally driven, high income nation and a regional leader in the digital economy.
The National Cyber Security Agency, he said, has been tasked to be the lead agency to coordinate and set the standard of all cyber security initiatives under six clusters of MyDigital.
"This is a reflection of the government's seriousness and deep commitment to improve national resilience in safeguarding our cyber environment. I believe that not only Malaysia but all other nations across the world should take this matter seriously.
"All the action plans under the Malaysia Cyber Security Strategy 2020 – 2024 (MCSS 2020 – 2024) will be aligned with the MyDigital initiatives as key elements to achieve the vision of building a secured, trusted and resilient cyber space.
"Through MCSS, the government will fortify local capabilities to predict, detect, deter and respond to cyber threats by strengthening our cybersecurity governance, nurturing competent people, supporting best practice processes and deploying effective technologies," he added.
MCSS has also outlined 113 programmes under its 35 action plans, of which one was to hold Cydes.
Cydes 2021 sees 30 countries with 2,500 industry players participating in various activities such as the Asean Cybersecurity Forum, 12 MCSS Track Sessions, policy dialogues as well as memorandum and letter of understanding signing ceremonies.
Muhyiddin also announced that Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob will be assisting him and is responsible for the nation's cyber security affairs.