SERI KEMBANGAN, April 3 — As Malaysians become increasingly dependent on the Internet, the protection of private data has become of greater concern to local authorities.
To raise awareness on the importance of keeping personal information secure, Putrajaya’s Cybersecurity Malaysia has started publishing books on real-life horror stories from some of the cases of cyber crime it has handled over the years.
According to CEO Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab, Cybersecurity teamed up last year with publisher Karangkraf to publish Kisah Benar 999, a compilation of 27 of the most interesting cases handled by Cyber999.
Cyber999 is a hotline under the agency that handles complaints of identity theft, fraud and online harassment.
“We just listed down the real cases, changed the names, and gave it to Karangkraf to write and publish them,” Amirudin told Malay Mail Online.
“This way, more people know about what is happening. These are all true stories.”
After the release of Kisah Benar 999, Amirudin said the agency was approached on possibly turning their stories into a TV series.
“We told them, we did not have the funding, so if they are willing to invest we are more than happy to share the content,” he said.
Amirudin said a sequel to Kisah Benar 999 is on the way. The second book will detail some of Cyber999’s more complicated cases, he said.
“The first book was a compilation of cases based on public complaints. This second book will be about digital forensic cases, a compilation of cases we have helped the police with in the past,” he said.
Apart from the hotline to help the general public and also educate them, Cybersecurity runs a digital forensic lab — the first of its kind in Malaysia — where they help the police with digital forensic evidence.
“When the police conduct a raid somewhere, and seize laptops and what not, this is where they bring the devices,” he said.
Cybersecurity handles an average of 10,000 cases of cyber crime every year, mostly based on complaints from the public.
