Malaysia Cyberattacks Cost RM79.16 Million in 22 Days of October, Bukit Aman Says

Malaysian police received 16 reports of cyberattacks between 10 and 31 October, with losses put at RM79.16 million. Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa, who heads Bukit Aman's Commercial Crime Investigation Department, gave the figures at a press conference on 12 November. He named no victim and said all the cases are still under investigation.

Where the money went

Most of the loss sits in cryptocurrency. Eleven reports involved compromised hardware and stolen crypto assets, worth RM42.82 million between them.

Two more were cases of money disappearing from bank accounts, with losses of RM14.52 million in one case and RM21.80 million in the other; Utusan Malaysia's report says a company was involved, without naming it. The list also takes in LED screens in Kluang and Bandar Sunway, hacked to show obscene content.

The published accounts don't say how the attackers got in.

Computer crime this year

Computer crime as a whole is up in count and down in cost. Police logged 1,297 cases from January to October, against 1,174 a year earlier, with losses of about RM125.62 million, down from RM239.2 million. Losses to e-financial crime in the same ten months went the opposite way: they rose 235% to RM280.72 million, even as the number of cases fell.

Rusdi said cyber threats are defined under Section 4 of the Cyber Security Act 2024 (Act 854), that the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) leads on cybersecurity, and that police work with Bank Negara Malaysia on cases involving the financial system.

What police asked organisations to do

Rusdi asked companies to strengthen system protection through security controls, system updates and access management and to monitor for intrusions early. He also asked them to file a police report for an attack or attempted attack even when nothing was lost: "Do not remain silent even if there are no losses."