Building Cyber Resilience Amidst the Rising Cybercrimes in Sarawak

According to a recent report by the New Sarawak Tribune, Sarawak witnessed a notable surge in cybercrimes in 2023. In the report, Datuk Dr Anderson Tiong, the general manager of Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA), referred to statistics from the Commercial Crime Investigation Department of the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) Sarawak Contingent. The data cited indicated a rise in cybercrime cases from 1,601 to 1,901 during the first 11 months of 2023.

Dr Tiong further categorised the cybercrimes, providing a breakdown of the number of cases for each category:

• Cases involving e-commerce crimes (552)
• Non-existent loans (299)
• Phone scams (252)
• Love scams (51)
• Impersonation (86)
• E-finance (136)
• Non-existent investments (252)
• Job offers (273)

The heightened frequency of cybercrimes is a precursor to more dire consequences resulting from weak cyber resilience, such as financial loss, supply chain disruptions, reputational damage, and several other legal consequences.

The statistics cited by Dr Tiong underscore the pressing need to foster cyber resilience among organisations in Sarawak amid the increasing frequency of cybercrimes and broadening attack surface. The pivotal starting point lies with individuals, from leaders to every member of an organisation, educating themselves on their role in fostering cyber resilience within and beyond the organisation.

While having appropriate security frameworks and tools is imperative, organisations need not face this challenge in isolation. Collaborating closely with seasoned experts, who possess extensive knowledge and experience in aiding numerous global organisations in achieving similar goals, can be significantly advantageous.

For instance, Tenable stands out as a vendor capable of assisting organisations in better measuring, managing, and mitigating cyber risk. Tenable’s Exposure Management empowers organisations in Sarawak to enhance visibility into their attack surface. This heightened visibility allows organisations to anticipate potential cyber attacks, devise prevention strategies, effectively communicate, and make better decisions based on cyber risks. Consequently, this fortifies their overall cyber resilience, enabling organisations to navigate their business operations more efficiently and securely.

Cyber resilience is more imperative than ever as the world is accelerating towards complete digital transformation. As organisations undergo continual growth and transformation, the challenge becomes increasingly formidable, demanding meticulous attention to monitor and address security vulnerabilities and gaps.

Recognising this evolving landscape, Tenable also recommends that organisations seek security platforms offering not only centralisation but also continuous analysis of their diverse digital assets, encompassing computing resources, cloud services, identity systems, and web applications. This approach equips organisations with crucial insights into asset exposures and their dynamic changes over time, which, in turn, will significantly enhance their cyber resilience and them to proactively anticipate and mitigate emerging threats.

To explore how Tenable can assist your organisation in achieving these goals and bolstering its cyber resilience, click here.