UNIMY organised a ‘Run Hacker Run: Cyber Security Exposed!’ Workshop at Hub Meraki Co-Working Space in Sri Petaling featuring a talk about Cyber Security by Dr Kavitha Muthy from Intellize.
The presentation first defined what is cyber security, which was explained as the practice of defending computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from malicious attacks. With almost all organisation using some form of digital technology or another, cyber security is utilised with the aim to reduce the risk of cyber-attacks and protect against the unauthorised exploitation of systems, networks, and technologies.
The event also touched on why cyber security is important. While the internet has brought people closer in so many ways, it has also exposed us to different harmful cyberattacks. With an increasing number of users, devices, and programmes in this constantly evolving digital world, combined with an overwhelming increase in data — much of which is sensitive or confidential — the importance of cyber security continues to grow. Cyberattacks are growing at the same rate as the cyber security solutions that are being developed daily.
It is then not surprising that Malaysian public’s concern about security issues is the highest it has been in the last decade with concern about identity theft and cybersecurity overtaking previous concerns about physical threats. Additionally, seeing that cyber security issues in Malaysia remains one of nation’s top concerns following a drastic rise in reports of online crimes and cases associated with cyberbullying, fraud, intrusion, phishing, and email scams; the question as to who need cyber security is clear – ALL OF US. The good news is that being aware of potential cyber security issues are the first step to securing ourselves against them.
Through the event, the audience also learned that with privacy laws such as the Privacy Data Protection Act (PDPA), there could be significant fines for organisations that suffer cyber security breaches. There are also non-financial costs to be considered, like reputational damage.
It also highlighted how cyber security is often confused with information security from a layman’s perspective. While the underlying principle is similar, their overall focus and implementation differ considerably. As shared above, cybersecurity is meant to protect attacks in cyberspace such as data, storage sources, devices, etc. Cybersecurity usually deals with cybercrimes, cyber frauds, and law enforcement. In contrast, information security is intended to protect data from any form of threat regardless of being analogue or digital. Thus, information security deals with unauthorised access, disclosure modification and disruption. For organisations, information security protects sensitive data from unauthorized acts such as scrutiny, modification, recording, disruption, or destruction. The goal is to secure and preserve the privacy of important data like client account information, financial information, or intellectual property.
Participants also enjoyed an interactive game of the basics of Cyber Security which included games involving Cryptography, Stenography, Forensics and Pen-testing facilitated by UNIMY’s Cyber Security Club President, Mr Chun.
The attendees had a good time figuring out the clues and finding the right code for the ‘Run Hacker Run’ Battle.
Overall, the workshop exposed the attendees to what is Cyber Security in a different and exciting manner while enabling them to get a glimpse into the differences between cyber security vs information security.
Schedule an appointment with our UNIMY team to learn more about UNIMY’s cyber security programme or read more about the programme’s curricula here.
References:
- https://www.nacsa.gov.my/#:~:text=The%20National%20Cyber%20Security%20Agency,the%20nation’s%20best%20experts%20and
- https://asset.mkn.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/MalaysiaCyberSecurityStrategy2020-2024.pdf
- https://www.cybersecurity.my/en/index.html
- https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-07-01/malaysia-makes-the-cybersecurity-top-10-with-some-help-from-its-friends
- https://analyticsindiamag.com/difference-between-cybersecurity-information-security/#:~:text=Cybersecurity%20is%20meant%20to%20protect,cyber%20frauds%20and%20law%20enforcement.
- https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2022/03/783753/cybersecurity-remains-malaysias-top-concern-hamzah