Selangor announces cyber emergency response team to defend against attacks, crimes

SHAH ALAM, Nov 24 — Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari today revealed the formation of a Cyber Emergency Response Team Selangor (CERT Selangor) during the presentation of the state 2023 Budget, in hopes that it will increase confidence in its digital economy.

The team will be responsible for protecting, detecting, and responding to cyber attack activities in line with the response plan Malaysian Cyber Security Strategy 2021-2024 released by the National Cyber Security Agency, he said at a state legislative assembly sitting here.

“A cyber security ecosystem that is capable of identifying, detecting and closing the gaps or cyber security system exploitations, data as well as information and communications technology (ICT) under the administration of the Selangor state government is very much needed to reduce risks of exposure, theft and misuse of the data of the people of Selangor by cybercriminals,” he said.

The team will have at least five staff members in it and it will be responsible for the safety of systems, data and ICT infrastructure in Selangor, he said.

He said it would also occasionally be empowered to manage managed security services, perform cyber security audits, and other related areas to ensure that Selangor’s systems, data and ICT infrastructure are safe and defended against cyber attacks.

“For the purpose of realising the formation of CERT Selangor the state government will allocate a total of RM20 million for the duration of the coming five years, with RM2 million funding provided in 2023 as a jumpstart to empower the cyber safety and defence of the state of Selangor,” Amirudin said.

He added that cybercrimes have caused losses of up to RM98.2 million in Selangor up until September of this year.

“This shows that cybercrime and data security could potentially cause economic losses,” he explained.

He expressed hopes that the CERT Selangor team will provoke confidence from the people of Selangor and investors in the Internet and digital economy of Malaysia, particularly in Selangor.

Today, the Selangor state government presented a Budget of RM2.45 billion for the state next year.