KUALA LUMPUR: As cyber attacks continue to surge globally, Malaysian businesses must ensure that they are accessing the right applications from their devices to keep software and devices free from threats.
There has been a 30% rise in cyber attacks globally last year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a study by Forrester which was commissioned by Cisco.
The UK National fraud and cyber security centre also reported a 400% increase in cyber crime since March last year.
In Malaysia, a report from Cisco’s Future of secure remote work revealed that 62% of organisations had experienced a 25% or more jump in cyber threats or alerts since the start of the pandemic.
To strengthen the cyber security of organisations, Cisco Systems Malaysia Meraki product sales specialist Derrick Low said businesses must ensure there is secure access to applications and file servers in the office to ensure a resilient business.
He added that businesses must also ensure that their information technology systems verify the identities of employees. Productivity should be sustained as working from home becomes a norm.
A Future of Secure Remote Work study by Cisco Systems reported that 62% of organisations in Malaysia had experienced over 25% in cyber threats or alerts since the Covid-19 pandemic started.
“More importantly, having the right tools and network foundation to adapt quickly to changing macro-environmental demands is important, ” Low explained during the Simple ways to build a secure digital workplace webinar held on May 27.
The webinar was organised by Star Media Group in partnership with Cisco.
For employees working remotely during the latest movement control order (MCO), Low advised workers to frequently change their passwords, update their devices as well as ensure that they do not access a blocked website to avoid cyber attacks.
Since the pandemic, he said the common threat for Malaysian Internet users is phishing, which leads to identity loss.
“Other types of threats, mostly harming Malaysian businesses, include malware or ransomware attacks, data extraction, lost passwords, identity theft…