KUALA LUMPUR:The government will set up a special task force to identify and study cyber security issues for the purpose of enacting relevant laws.

The National Security Council (MKN) in a statement said the matter was among the decisions agreed in the first meeting of the National Cyber Security Committee (JKSN) chaired by Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today.

The meeting was a move by the government to begin the implementation of the Malaysia Cyber Security Strategy (MCSS) action plans launched by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Oct 12.

Other decision was the setting up of a working group to coordinate cyber security evaluation and strengthening initiatives against selected critical public sector agencies.

"For the first phase, a total of 16 agencies have been identified for the implementation of this initiative," according to the statement.

MKN said there was an increase in the number of cyber security incidents reported by public sector organisations throughout this year.

As of Nov 30, a total of 3,836 cyber incidents was reported involving among others intrusion (31.5 per cent) and malware attacks (53.19 per cent).

"Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) and ransomware attacks as well as the intrusion of government information and communication technology (ICT) system are serious issues that need to be addressed as they can cause strategic information leakage, affect operations and tarnish image," said the statement.

-- BERNAMA