Malaysia's Cyber Defence System To Be Fully Operational In October - Defence Minister

LANGKAWI (Kedah, Malaysia), March 25 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Armed Forces' cyber defence system which would emerge as the best such system in the Southeast Asian region will begin full operations in October this year. Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Saturday the system,which had been developed two years ago, aimed to boost the country's preparedness in facing cyber threats. "This (cyber threat) is an area which, in the context of the country's defence, must be taken seriously," he told reporters after participating in the National Transformation 2050 (TN50) Dialogue : The Future of National Defence, here. He said that before the system was developed fully, the Malaysian armed forces had already succeeded in thwarting several cyber attacks by certain parties, but he declined further comment. "If I disclose more than this, I fear that those who are watching us will know of our (cyber defence system) capability," he said. Meanwhile, Hishammuddin said his ministry was studying in detail another new pension scheme for about 176,000 military personnel who had now retired but had not received their pension. He said Prime Minister Najib Razak was expected to announce the new scheme at the launching of the Warriors' Day this year. "(For the moment) many things have to be discussed with the stakeholders but we have already identified several steps forward (towards preparing the new scheme)," he said. With regard to the dialogue, he said the participants concerned had given positive inputs and his ministry would collaborate with the Youth and Sports Ministry to finalise the aspirations of TN50 regarding the country's defence. The dialogue, which was also attended by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, involved about 600 participants comprising university students, youth leaders and the National Service Training Program alumni. -- BERNAMA