Cyber Crime in Malaysia.

(What you DON't

have to do to get charged)
Cyber crimes. We hear that all the time. Fact is we get all these emails that could lead to raud!
too! most o the time. "o what does constitute cyber crime# $n this age o wired inormation! $
managed to get to a document %osted on the &oyal Malaysian 'olice website. Now! this source
should be credible right#
Written by "u%t.(im )ong "huan! the document goes on to list Cyber Crime as %rescribed by the
Com%uter Crimes *ct o +,,-! Digital "ignature act o +,,-! and the .elemedicine act o +,,-.
What the act outlines and the %rovisions o each o this act! $ cannot get hold o.
/ut this much $ can tell you.
* ellow Malaysian /logger has been detained since +0th o 1uly 233- right here in the ca%ital
city o Malaysia! 4uala (um%ur. Whats even more interesting is that the team o three law
enorcement oicers claimed they were rom the Federal 5nit! /u6it *man! only to be ound out
later that Nat (www.7elas.ino) was held or investigation in the district head8uarters o Dang
Wangi.
Details are s6etchy! but $ have met Nat! he is not a gangster! and $ do not 6now him to be a
criminal either. )ec6! he loo6s more li6e a librarian9 /ut do visit these sites or more ino! Nat is
in a circle o riends that wor6 tirelessly to give readers their true account o daily ha%%ennings.
'erha%s! it could be one o their stories that has landed him in this %redicament.
/ut since when re%orting is a crime# Oooo%s! does this mean that $ am committing one now#
Cyberspace guardians
12 April 2009 (New Staits Times)
CyberSecurity Malaysia who? A vast majority of Internet users do not know that there is a public agency
tothat look after Malaysian cyberspace. safe? Agency boss t!Col "#$ %usin &a'ri tells C%A()#A )*+I
how they do go about doing their job
Q: What are your functions?
,e advise Internet users on how to cope with cyber threats and deal with safety issues.
,e also provide specialised services to support the growth of digital forensics- security management and
best practices- and cyber security products evaluation based on international standards.
.hird party validation on /uality and reliability of security products is important as it will ensure that
Malaysian products get accepted globally.
Another important function is education- training and creating awareness in the area of cyber security.
,e intend to increase the number of cyber security professionals.
,e develop educational content on cyber security that can be used by Internet users of all ages !!!
students- office workers and home users.
,e also run a help centre- the Cyber 000 service.
Q: Is CyberSecurity Malaysia an enforcement agency?
,e are not a law enforcement agency. ,e cannot knock down the doors of people suspected of
committing cyber crimes and confiscate computers.
*nforcement only comes from law enforcement agencies like the police. ,e provide support to
enforcement agencies and victims.
,e can assist in cyber forensic and analysis investigation such as analysing evidence and providing
e1pert witnesses.
(ot everything should be in the form of enforcement.
,e need tiers- role players- technical support and specialist centres which can probe deeper and solve
technical problems to help the judicial process.
Q: What makes a crime a cyber crime?
.here is no comprehensive definition of cyber crime. .here were some attempts but no conclusive
definition was agreeable.
Cyber crime comes under three categories. .he first is when information and communications technology
"IC.$ systems and intellectual property become targets of e1ploitation- intrusion- identity and information
theft.
.he second is when IC. devices are used as means to commit crimes.
2or e1ample- computers at home are used to run malicious programs to intrude other computers to steal
money- identity and passwords.
.he third category is where the IC. devices are used as mediums of committing crimes. 2or e1ample-
sedition- disharmony or unrest- slandering and instigating at higher scale come under this category.
Some people say these cases must be prosecuted under cyber laws. 3ut there are already laws that can
be used to handle these cases. 2or e1ample- for sedition and slander- one can be charged under the
4enal Code.
Q: How successful is CyberSecurity Malaysia in combating cyber crimes?
.here are no agreed indicators to measure this success.
It is hard to say how successful we are. 3ut we have achieved some breakthroughs in many incidents.
5ur role in combating cyber crime involves providing specialised and in!depth tech support on how to
tackle threats.
2or e1ample- when there is a dedicated attack by botnet to propagate malware which is very dangerous-
we /uickly analyse it to look for an antidote.
If there is none- then we create one to release to our partners- so Malaysians can be protected from these
vulnerabilities online.
Q: recent CyberSecurity statement said cyber crimes had increased !"" per cent#
ast year- we handled a total of 6-768 incidents- more than 799 per cent increase compared with 699:.
3ut that rate was an increase in incidents and it may not correlate with cyber crime rates.
,e have not analysed cyber crime rates per se. 3ut what we have is analysis on the complaints and
referrals given to us.
In my years of service- I have not seen comprehensive statistics on the rate of cyber crime in Malaysia.
.he police- 3ank (egara- Securities Commission and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia
Commission "MCMC$ have their own statistics. ,e have not been able to collate these statistics to see
the bigger picture.
,hat we at CyberSecurity Malaysia have at the moment is the statistical data captured from our cyber
complaint centre- the Cyber 000 and MyCert.
Many factors can contribute to the increase. 5ne is that cyber crimes have gone up. Second is that the
number of Internet users has gone up. .here are 78.; million Internet users in the country today and the
number is increasing.
So the base has e1panded and- correspondingly- complaints have also increased.
Q: $o you see cyber crime numbers escalating with the economic downturn?
Most cyber crimes are financially motivated. .he impact of the economic downturn and financial crisis
could potentially lead to the increase in cyber crime cases globally. ,ith people becoming jobless and
unemployed- it can lead to the boom in spam- especially those related to false job offers.
Q: %he &nergy' Water and Communications Minister $atuk Sha(iman bu Mansor has said that
Malaysia may need a cyber court to deal with the increasing number of cyber crimes#
<es- we need a cyber court. It could- hopefully- speed up the prosecution of cyber
criminals. And it would encourage more judges and lawyers to specialise in cyber laws. A very
challenging issue in cyber crime investigation is the gathering of evidence. If there is a cyber court- there
will be a need for a provision on how the court can facilitate and give empowerment for evidence
collection in a much- much easier way.
.his is a bottleneck due to the borderless nature of the Internet and multiple jurisdiction as evidence can
come from two or more countries.
.he setting up of the court must take into consideration the bottleneck and how it can help ease evidence
gathering.
Q: re we lacking or' perhaps' not doing it right in combating cyber crimes?
.he government has acted wisely and is far!sighted as far as cyber security issues are concerned.
It has created institutions like CyberSecurity Malaysia to help us face the challenges. .here is also the
(ational Cyber Security 4olicy which aims to reduce the vulnerability of IC. systems and networks.
It tries to instil a culture of cyber security among Internet users and strengthen Malaysian self!reliance in
terms of technology and human resources.
(ot many countries have such a policy or enacted laws like the Computer Crime Act 700: and the
Communication and Multimedia Act 700=.
.he fundamentals have been put in place. I believe the security and safety in Malaysian cyberspace is
much better than in some developed countries.
2or e1ample- if a malicious virus arrives in Malaysian space- we can stop it within 6> hours.
,e do this by working with banks- MCMC- IS4s and the police.
If you talk about a 799m sprint- we are the fastest. 5ur cyberspace is well governed.
Q: What about cyber laws?
.o address the rapid increase in cyber!related crimes- the government understands that cyber laws need
to be- if necessary- revamped to meet the challenges.
.he Ministry of Science- .echnology and Innovation has worked with CyberSecurity Malaysia since last
year to look into cyber laws and all related laws- and recommend amendments- if needed.
Q: What areas are we lacking in?
It will be in the number of security professionals. ,e have just about =99 professionals now.
,e need to increase the number to about :-999 in three years? time. @niversities have already responded
and are offering courses. 3ut still- the demand is huge.
,e need to educate the public and create awareness on cyber security. .here is no dedicated agency
doing that right now.
,e have done some bits like creating content and interacting with schools through pilot projects.
Q: CyberSecurity aims to )create a culture of info*security) among Malaysians# Can you e+plain?
Most people go into the information infrastructure and concentrate on the ease of use. +ery few look at it
from a safety and security perspective.
2or e1ample- if we subscribe to Internet banking- we should learn about the risk factors. In social
networking sites like 2riendster and 2acebook- we must be aware of the risk in dealing with people on
these sites.
,e should never blindly trust people and we must be critical about what we read and see.
,e aim to build a culture of security through awareness programmes and best practices among children-
teenagers- parents and organisations.
,e have organised and created many activities to improve the level of awareness in information security.
%ome A cyber crime
cyber crime
Cyber crime encompasses any criminal act dealing with computers andnetworks "called hacking$. Additionally-
cyber crime also includes traditional crimes conducted through the Internet. 2or e1ampleB hate crimes-
telemarketing and Internet fraud- identity theft- and credit card account thefts are considered to be cyber crimes
when the illegal activities are committed through the use of a computer and the Internet.C
More than ,'""" cybercrime cases reported in Malaysia within two years

&5%5# 3A#@D More than >-999 cyber complaints- mostly concerning cyber crimes have been lodged with
Cybersecurity Malaysia in the past two years.
Its chief e1ecutive officer ieutenant!Colonel %usin &a'ri said that the complaints- mostly consisted of hack
threats- fraud- denial of services and other computer problems such files lost or corrupted by viruses.
E,e have received about 6-999 complaints in 699:.
East year- a total of 6-768 cases were lodged with us-F he told pressmen after the presentation of five
computers to a school in the Gampung Simpang Arang 5rang Asli settlement.
Science- .echnology and Innovation secretary!general )atuk Abdul %anan Alang *ndut presented the
computers on Saturday.
t!Col %usin e1plained that the agencyHs services catered for individuals- as well as companies- who faced
computer related problems.
E5ur consultation services are free but we will charge any work that needs to be done such as repairs.
E.he charges varies on a case by case basis-F he said adding that the agency rarely charged students or those
from the lower!income group.
%e said that the agencyHs 7;9!strong staff was dedicated to solving computer problems as they aimed to serve
the needs of the public.
E,e have an emergency response team that caters to the complaints.
EAmong our other services are digital forensics- security assurance- security management and best practices-F
he said.
%e added that the agencyHs main objective is to be a one!stop coordination centre for all national cyber security
initiatives.
EAmong the initiatives are reducing vulnerability of IC. systems and networks and nurture a culture of cyber
security among users and critical sectors-F he said.
t!Col %usin said the public could contact the agency at 98!=006I===- fa1 at 98!=0>;869; or email at info
JatKcybersecurity.my.
E4eople can also contact our hotline at C<3*#000 to report any problems.
E5ur office in Seri Gembangan is open from Monday to 2riday-F he said.
%e said that the agency was also working closely with enforcement agencies such as the police in solving and
curving cybercrimes in the country.

3y 2A#IG L5G*4I in Star online