Cyber security threats via social media worrisome as Internet service grows
The Borneo Post (22 June 2012)

KOTA KINABALU: Cyber security threats via social media are expected to increase as the Internet service expands further, said CyberSecurity Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Husin Jazri, yesterday.

He said based on CyberSecurity's observation of the industry, there was a shift from security incidents involving technical aspects such as malicious codes and Denial-of-Servcie (DoS) attacks to social aspects such as cyber harassment via social websites like Facebook and content-related issues.

"With the propagation of social networking sites and online gaming, we are worried of the possible dangers towards children and young adults as they may be afraid to report to the Malaysia Computer Emergency Response Team known as Cyber999 or probably have never heard of our service," he said during a get-together with the Sabah media, here.

Husin said although a 20 per cent decrease in cyber security incidents was reported between January and May this year, future attacks would be inevitable as the number of Internet users grew rapidly.

"From 2009 to 2010, there was a 127 per cent increase in Internet users, and from 2010 to last year, the increase was 88 per cent.

"Cyber security incidents in Malaysia are constantly increasing, which is worrying but understandable given the high rate of Internet usage in the country," he said.

According to him, Malaysia has about 17.5 million Internet users consisting of wireless, broadband and third generation mobile telecommunication (3G) service users, with Sabah and Sarawak making up an estimated six million of the total.

As the leading man to combat cyber security threats in the country, Husni made three recommendations to address the issue, including the creation of a special account for children and youths to address parental worries on western cultural influences such as pornography.