CSIRTs hone their anti-cybercrime skills
1 FEB 2010 (The Star)

KUALA LUMPUR: Members of the Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team (APCERT) have completed an annual cybercrime fighting drill, further refining their anti - cybercrime tactics.

The drill, aimed at testing the response capabilities of leading Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) from the Asia Pacific economies, had Cybersecurity Malaysia playing the role of exercise co-ordinator for the third year.

Cybersecurity Malaysia is a member of the APCERT, a body set up by leading and national CSIRTs from the Asia Pacific region.

Roy Ko, chairman of APCERT, said the drill is important because cyberattacks are borderless.

"It is vital for every CSIRT to share information and experience on cross-border incident handling," he said in a statement here.

"This helps all teams to refine and test their points of contact and procedures, as well as to respond more efficiently to in-progress Internet attacks, he explained.

The theme for this year's drill was "Fighting Cyber Crimes with Financial Incentives." It was attended by 16 teams from 14 economies that responded to the simulated cyberattacks.

Last year, Malaysia CERT - part of Cybersecurity Malaysia - handled more than 3,500 security incidents involving phishing, online fraud, malware infection and system intrusions.