Weak passwords, sharing with boyfriend contributes to cyber crime

The use of weak passwords and sharing them with boyfriends have been detected as among factors contributing to the rise of cyber crime cases nationwide.

CyberSecurity Malaysia International and Government Engagement Division senior vice-president Mohd Shamir Hashim said the two factors led to various fraud cases involving cyber crime.

He said out of almost 7,000 cases the agency received from January to August this year, fraud cases topped the list at 3,295 cases, followed by intrusion (2,143) and spamming (467).

"Most of these cases occurred due to lack of awareness among (internet) users. Their websites had been hacked and the contents stolen. These cases can be reduced if the level of awareness was heightened," he said.

Mohd Shamir was speaking to reporters after attending the launch of Kedah-edition 'Ops Cyber Tour 2.0', a social innovation programme organised by the science, technology and innovation ministry at Wisma Darul Aman Tuesday.

Also present was state science, innovation and information technology, communications, advanced technology and human resources exco Datuk Norsabrina Mohd Noor.

-- BERNAMA