At the closing of the Capital Market Cyber Simulation 2022, Chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), Dato’ Seri Awang Adek Husin emphasised that capital market players cannot afford to be complacent about cyber security. This is critical in order to protect investors and markets.
The SC places a high value on cyber resilience. This yearly simulation exercise was designed to simulate cyber event scenarios as close to the real situation as possible. This year, 110 organisations across the capital market spectrum participated in the exercise. They included Bursa Malaysia, brokers, asset managers, trustees, and recognised market operators such as equity crowdfunding, peer-to-peer platforms, and digital asset exchanges. Here are highlights from his speech –
- Last year, Malaysia recorded over 20,000 cybercrime cases with losses amounting to RM560 million.
- Cybersecurity requires a holistic approach that addresses both cyber and technology risks.
- The SC is making efforts to strengthen the capital market’s overall capabilities and ability to withstand attacks.
- In this regard, the CMP3 outlines several strategic initiatives that need to be undertaken:
- Strengthening the SC’s and industry’s intelligence capabilities to be better prepared against potential breaches and imminent threats
- Develop an approach to bolster the industry’s cyber defence capabilities
- Develop a framework to regulate technology risks more holistically
- The SC will release a new Regulatory Framework on Technology Risk Management by early 2023.
- Based on this year’s exercise, it was observed that the overall score of participants improved significantly compared to last year.
- Significant progress was also seen in participants’ ability to implement technical solutions and respond from a policies and procedures’ perspective.
- Nonetheless, in light of evolving threats, the industry must continue to improve its cyber resilience and cyber readiness.
