The Malaysia-Japan Economic Association (MAJECA) collaborated with the Malaysia South-South Association (MASSA), Malaysian Autonomous Intelligence & Robotics Association (MyAIRA), and the Expertise Resource Association (ERA), to organise a webinar on cybersecurity, titled “Cyber-Attack Prevention for Consumers and Enterprises” on 4 October 2021.
More than 100 participants, from various business sectors and organisations, logged in from Malaysia, Chile, Japan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos and Singapore for this event.
In today’s globally digitised world, the amount of data accessed, utilised and shared across complex networks continues to grow. The ongoing pandemic has accelerated communities and businesses to utilise these digital platforms which, in turn, can exacerbate the rise of cyber-attacks, ranging from phishing, malware, ransomware and many more.
As we increasingly become more digitalised in our businesses and daily life with the gaining prevalence of tele-working, we face a wider exposure towards cybersecurity threats that are becoming more intelligent and insidious.
Enterprises need to protect the trust of their stakeholders. A sound cybersecurity strategy thus requires not only the right technologies to be in place, but also consumers’ awareness on how their data can be compromised.
This webinar aimed to highlight these cybersecurity risks, the strategies and accessible solutions that can be relevant to enterprises and consumers.
The webinar programme was as follows:
The webinar began with welcoming addresses from the leadership of MASSA-MAJECA and MyAIRA after being introduced by the emcee.
Tan Sri Azman Hashim, President, Malaysia South-South Association (MASSA) & Malaysia-Japan Economic Association (MAJECA), delivering his welcome address.
Mr Yong Chong Soon, President, Malaysian Autonomous Intelligence & Robotics Association (MyAIRA), giving his welcome address.
Ms Ng Su Fun, Executive Secretary, Malaysian South-South Association (MASSA) and the Malaysia-Japan Economic Association (MAJECA) was the emcee of the webinar.
The discussion on the topic of cybersecurity risks, the strategies and accessible solutions that may be relevant to enterprises and consumers was moderated by Ms Hanniz Lam, Communications Director of MyAIRA (pic below). Joining alongside her was a distinguished panel comprising of experts in the field of cybersecurity.
The panelists were as follows:
Ms Jacqueline Jayne, Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4, Inc.
Mr Hon Fun Ping, CEO of NetAssist (M) Sdn Bhd
Mr Wong Diing Shiang, Digital Business Development Manager at i5c Digital Sdn Bhd
Following the presentations by the speakers, the webinar proceeded into a panel discussion-cum-Q & A session led once more by Ms Hanniz Lam.
From top-left, clockwise:
Ms Jacqueline Jayne, Mr Hon Fun Ping, Ms Hanniz Lam (moderator) and Mr Wong Diing Shiang.
The panelists discussed the following:
• Ms Jacqueline Jayne highlighted the human error in handling cybersecurity policies. She reported that using common information such as birthdates as passwords is still prevalent among users all over the world, and how information such as these can be easily acquired by users with ill-intentions. She touched on the root of deception, explaining cybercriminals’ strategy to manipulate their targets. Cybercriminals manipulates the OODA (Observe-Orient-Decide-Act) loop – a model of decision making. These OODA loop helps our brain filter and interpret information before taking an action. However, scam artists are able to hijack this loop by creating a knee-jerk situation that effectively bypasses the first three steps and reach straight to ‘Action’. This pushes the targets to act out of urgency or fear, and therefore falling for the scam. She emphasized that the human element in business can be inevitable and users should find a way to verify, such as through official and legitimate websites, to identify if the other party can be trusted.
• Mr Hon Fun Ping highlighted the vulnerabilities and weakness of current cybersecurity technologies. He noted that while firewall is good at preventing external intrusion, it cannot detect malicious activities from within the system. In view of this, it takes a long time for one to determine or notice that one’s accounts and devices have been compromised. He recommended a strategy to always assume that you have been breached, and to always remain alert. He shared that today, as many cybersecurity solutions are in the market, decision-makers should consider hiring cybersecurity services of vendors who practice cybersecurity from a holistic standpoint i.e., by recognising the intertwined relationship of people, processes and technology.
• Mr Wong Diing Shiang provided interesting insights on the types of cyber threats and concerns that both enterprises and consumers commonly face, such as the bank account & credit card information and users’ privacy. He especially focused on those who operate in the field of e-Commerce as vendors. He explained the technical architecture behind some of the common cyber threats that e-Commerce vendors and consumers currently face. Then, he shared cybersecurity solutions and best practices that can protect enterprises/vendors and consumers.
Mr Wong Lian Kee (pic above), President of Expertise Resource Association (ERA), wrapped up the webinar with his closing remarks highlighting:
• The need to understand the common threads of deceptive practices, and how we tend to filter, interpret the things we see and how we react to issues in an emotional-charged manner like curiosity, urgency, greed, fear and helpfulness which may create mental blind spots that can be exploited by bad faith actors.
• The need for people, process and technology to be aligned, constantly reviewed and updated, in order to stay ahead of the threats and possible attacks.
• The importance of strong cybersecurity system to be in place by investing in the best solutions and practices to mitigate cyber-attacks, protect the trust and confidence between the enterprises and its customers and consumers.
MAJECA 