Nacsa raises cybersecurity threat level from ‘low’ to ‘medium’

 The National Security Council indicates this is a precautionary measure taken in light of current security developments, aimed at ensuring the nation’s essential services remain operational.

The National Security Council said cybersecurity measures enable proactive prevention and mitigation actions to be taken early, thereby reducing the risk of disruptions to the nation’s essential services.

PETALING JAYA:

The National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) today raised the national cybersecurity threat level from “low” to “medium”.

The National Security Council (MKN), under the Prime Minister’s Department, had indicated that this is a precautionary measure taken in light of current security developments, aimed at ensuring the nation’s essential services remain operational, Bernama reported.

“Nacsa has held meetings with sector heads and entities within the national critical information infrastructure (NCII) to strengthen preparedness coordination across every sector.

“The meetings mandated that all NCII entities implement nine cybersecurity preparedness measures, including 24-hour monitoring, system patching, multi-factor authentication, and the updating of service continuity plans,” the statement noted.

The statement was issued in reference to remarks made by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 3, concerning national security preparedness in the face of evolving geopolitical conflicts as well as regional and international security tensions.

MKN said NCII sector heads were also required to submit weekly threat status reports to Nacsa.

These cybersecurity preparedness measures were also presented during a special meeting of ministry secretaries-general and heads of service yesterday.

Furthermore, Nacsa, through the National Cyber Coordination and Control Centre (NC4), is continuously executing three key operational functions — issuing cybersecurity alerts and advisories, strengthening threat detection and assessment capabilities, and conducting cybersecurity monitoring of NCII entities and government agencies.

These measures enable proactive prevention and mitigation actions to be taken early, thereby reducing the risk of disruptions to the nation’s essential services.

Throughout last month, NC4 issued eight alerts and advisories regarding vulnerabilities affecting NCII entities and government agencies, the statement added.

MKN remains committed to ensuring that the nation’s security, stability and sovereignty are upheld through comprehensive, integrated, and continuous preparedness measures, with the aim of protecting the people and the nation’s interests.

Previously, Anwar had said that Malaysia was among the countries potentially targeted for cyberattacks, given the strength of its digital infrastructure and data centres, as well as the government’s firm stance on several international issues, most notably concerning Palestine and Gaza.

Anwar stated that this assessment was based on intelligence gathered by the government, adding that not all details regarding these threats could be disclosed to the public. - FMT