In the past few weeks, the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) has found four possible attempts to penetrate into the national defence communication network.

ATM Cyber and Electromagnetic Defence Director-General Rear Admiral Datuk Ts. Shamsuddin Ludin said that investigations showed that phishing was done by a group or an individual to hack and test the integrity of cyber defence technology while testing their skills in using current malware technology.

“These hackers might want to try out technology that is already on the market. There could also be sponsors who want to do bad things so they can sell protection software or firewalls “He said this on Tuesday after going to a Satellite Awareness Day at the ATM Haigate Complex (Jan 17).

“We act before something happens, not after it does. Our actions are ongoing in times of peace, crisis, and war.”

– Rear Admiral Datuk Ts. Shamsuddin Ludin

Shamsuddin said that ATM has not yet found out what the real goal of the hacking attempts was, but that steps have already been taken to improve the country’s cyber defence system.

He said that hackers recently attacked the official email network used by several Defense Ministry and Armed Forces agencies using phishing emails.

Shamsuddin said that phishing emails could be used against any organisation, but ATM is always on the lookout for the possibility of infiltration and has done things like strengthen its firewall to protect itself.

“We act before something happens, not after it does. Our actions are ongoing in times of peace, crisis, and war,” he said. “This issue isn’t a surprise, so there’s no question that we’ll be confused when it happens. The action plan is always there.”

On January 13, ATM Commander Gen Tan Sri Affendi Buang said that the entire Internet-accessible ATM communication network was safe and that hacking attempts were detected early.

Recently, a new hacker group called “Dark Pink” is said to have used phishing emails and advanced malware to get into military defence systems in the Philippines and Malaysia, as well as government organisations in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Earlier, Shamsuddin went to Satellite Awareness Day, which was led by Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt Gen Datuk Arman Rumaizi Ahmad.

The two-day programme, which officially ends, is meant to show how important satellite applications are to national defence and security in a time when technology threats are getting more complicated.

23 government agencies and private businesses, 15 local universities and schools, and people from the Armed Forces were there.

Info source – Bernama