Malaysia wants to introduce an anti-hacking app. WTF is this?

The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (MenKOMM) announces that they will be introducing a special app that is meant to curb hacking. According to Minister Annuar Musa, the app “can help to check hacking activities, which are getting prevalent now”.

The Minister said that the “anti-hacking” application “can be used by all gadgets registered in this country”. However, it might be a paid application, and he explained that the payment aspect of it has yet to be decided.

“If there is a charge, we will ensure that the price is reasonable and suitable for all parties,” he added.

Annuar Musa said that he is planning on meeting with the app’s owner outside the country soon. He also mentioned that Cyber Security Malaysia will be reviewing the app before the launch.

“I am also asking Cyber Security Malaysia (CSM) to conduct specific studies on this application because there are still several matters that need to be scrutinised before it is launched for the people in this country,” continued Annuar Musa.

The announcement of this new “anti-hacking” app is a little worrying, considering the quality of the previous apps released by government ministries and agencies. Just for an example, JPJ’s eAduan app that was meant to be helpful was hidden inside another app. And in Rory and Anep’s top-notch video where they tried using Malaysia’s public transport, Anep pointed out how terrible the Pulse app is.

Also, recently Prime Minister Ismail Sabri and Minister Saifuddin Abdullah’s Telegram accounts were reportedly hacked, despite being perceived to be more secure than WhatsApp. They’ve asked members of the public to ignore messages from those accounts. We can only hope that the “anti-hacking” app would take these concerns into account before launching it to the public.

As we know, there’s no such thing as a single app to prevent hacking. Cybersecurity and hacking prevention involves multitudes of factors as criminals resort to phishing or social engineering where victims are fooled into providing their credentials.

But while we wait, there are other apps you can use now that can help beef up security. You can use password managers like like Bitwarden or even the Google Password Manager to ensure each service and website uses a unique complicated password. Also, VPN apps can encrypt your data and traffic when using shared WiFi networks. It’s also good advice to not click on links or download APK files sent from strangers. There are malware apps which can steal your online banking credentials and OTP.

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