Malaysian authorities brace for Anonymous cyberattack

Malaysian cyber security authorities have taken preventive measures for a scheduled attack by the "hacktivist" group Anonymous on its government website www.malaysia.gov.my. But Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim declined to elaborate on the preventive actions, which he said were confidential, Malaysia's The Star reported. Anonymous had threatened to launch the attack on the government's official website at about 3:30 a.m. Thursday, the report said. The hacktivist group had said that it was acting against the various forms of censorship by the Malaysian government and the recent move to block 10 file-sharing websites. But Rais said the hacker group had misunderstood the government's intention in blocking the 10 filesharing websites. “We do not have censorship, except when crimes are committed through cyberspace," he said, adding that the ministry was taking the threats very seriously. Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar said that the police were aware of the hack threat and were working with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to investigate the issue. He added that there was a rise in cyber crimes including the misuse of the Internet for criminal activities. — TJD, GMA News