Budget 2021: RM27 million allocated to improve cyber security in Malaysia

During the Budget 2021 presentation by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Aziz, he revealed a total of RM27 million to be given to Cybersecurity Malaysia. The budget allocation is to heighten cyber security in Malaysia.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in October this year said that national cyber security would “continue to be a priority in national defence and security agenda”. He said that active cyber defence is timely, especially due to the increasing number of cyber crimes now during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During the MCO, the National Cyber Control and Command Centre (NC4) had succeeded in detecting and containing several cyber attacks on certain agencies,” said the Prime Minister.

As part of the fight to beat cyber attacks, the government launched the Malaysia Cyber Security Strategy (MCSS) 2020-2024. They allocated RM1.8 billion—which includes the RM27 million budgeted for 2021—to step up national cyber security preparedness.

The Communications and Multimedia Ministry (KKMM) and the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) would be tasked with formulating, implementing, monitoring and coordinating the medium term action plan. The strategy is then drafted based on five pillars with 12 strategies, 35 actions plans and 113 programmes.

The pillars include enhancing the management of national governance and cyber security, empowering innovation and world standard technology, and enhancing international cooperation. Muhyiddin mentions that international cooperation is “crucial” in overcoming cyber security issues.

For more coverage of Budget 2021, click here.

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