Siberkasa on right track to sustain country’s cybersecurity ecosystem, says minister

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 12 — Developments made under the Cyber Security Empowerment Programme (SiberKasa) are on the right track as part of the government’s efforts to sustain Malaysia’s cybersecurity ecosystem, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said.

Saifuddin said he was satisfied with the progress made under SiberKasa, which was launched on March 23, adding that the programme has successfully undertaken 35 types of services created by CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM).

Among them are cybersecurity industry guidelines, cloud computing services guidelines, Algoritma Kriptografi Sedia Ada (AKSA) cryptographic algorithms guidelines, the CamMuka 2.0 application and Mobile Assessment Security Scanning Application (Massa).

He said SiberKasa is a government effort to improve cybersecurity in dealing with cyber threats and attacks that are increasingly complex, dynamic and sophisticated.

“SiberKasa is a manifestation of the government in dealing with increasingly complex and sophisticated cyber threats and attacks,” he said at a media conference after the ‘Turun Padang Secara Maya’ programme with CSM today.

Saifuddin said the SiberKasa initiative was also in line with the Malaysia Cyber Security Strategy (MCSS) 2020-2024 and Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL).

To strengthen the cybersecurity agenda, Saifuddin wants CSM to enhance awareness campaigns and programmes on cyber threats as well as educate the public on how to use social media sensibly.

“I myself often remind the people to be careful in using social media, especially in sharing opinions, so that it is always based on the principles of decency and morality as well as making criticism in a civilised manner,” he said.

Saifuddin said the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (KKMM) will study the National Cryptography Policy that was approved by the Cabinet in 2013 to speed up its implementation process.

“We (KKMM) will be the implementing agency in this regard. We will refer to the Cabinet on the development of this policy because for me it is important in terms of cybersecurity,” he said.

The National Cryptography Policy is part of the National Cyber ​​Security Policy (NCSP) which outlines methods and strategic approaches on the use of cryptography, including research and development aspects to protect government agency information. — Bernama