Malaysia’s cybersecurity situation remains under control and the national cyber threat level is holding at moderate, the National Security Council said in a statement carried by NST, after incidents and service problems at several financial institutions.
The council, through the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA), said the National Cyber Coordination and Command Centre (NC4) is monitoring developments continuously.
Bank Negara Malaysia, the lead agency for the banking and financial sector, is running integrated preparedness measures that include continuous monitoring of the cybersecurity status of National Critical Information Infrastructure (NCII) entities under its supervision.
NACSA is also working with lead sectors and NCII operators so that threats are detected and addressed promptly while essential services keep running smoothly, the council said.
The statement followed a week of service notices from lenders. Bank Rakyat said a technical problem involving a third-party service provider took down its corporate website, and that deposits, personal information and banking services were unaffected, Malay Mail reported. Technology site Lowyat.NET said several banking web pages, including the iRakyat online banking login page, had been defaced.
Three lenders issued service notices on Friday, Lianhe Zaobao wrote, citing Nanyang Siang Pau. BSN linked difficulties with interbank cash withdrawals to high ATM transaction volumes on the Malaysian Electronic Payment System (MEPS), the shared network that lets one bank’s card draw money from another bank’s machine. Bank Islam cited compatibility problems between its latest mobile app and Android 17, and Bank Rakyat said its website was temporarily inaccessible.
PayNet, which runs the interbank withdrawal network, said on Saturday that the shared ATM network was working normally, after unverified claims about other lenders spread online.
The council advised the public not to believe or spread claims about cyberattacks, including material circulating on social media.
“The public is advised to always refer to official government channels, Bank Negara Malaysia and their respective financial institutions for verified information,” it said in its statement.
It added that the council, the Prime Minister’s Department and NACSA would issue updates from time to time through official channels.
None of the statements said how many customers were affected, whether any data was taken, or who was behind the attacks.
