SHAH ALAM: Cybercrime is getting more sophisticated and is on an upward trend, says Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (pic).

The Deputy Prime Minister said such development did not augur well and pro-active measures needed to be put in place to keep the situation in check.

“Statistics showed that for the first five months of this year, cybercrimes resulted in losses amounting to some RM153mil.

“This is about 38% of the total losses of RM398.6mil recorded last year.

“In addition, losses from e-financial fraud cases also showed a significant jump within the same period, totalling RM40.7mil, which surpassed the amount for the whole of last year,” she said in her speech at the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) Hari Raya open house at a hotel here yesterday.Dr Wan Azizah described the situation as “very challenging” and urged all parties, including MCPF, the private sector and individuals, to work closely together with the authorities and Bank Negara to address the pressing issue.

She said although numerous preventive efforts were being carried out, the crime rate in the country was still high.

“MCPF should continue with its efforts to assist the authorities in crime prevention campaigns nationwide.

“Creating greater awareness among the public and equipping them with the necessary information can bring about the much needed change and help reduce opportunistic crimes,” said Dr Wan Azizah, who is also MCPF chairman.

MCPF senior vice-chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said they had discussed the issue of cybercrime, which includes cyberthreat and cyberbullying incidents, at great length at its management committee.

“There is no doubt cybercrime is on the increase and we are giving this serious attention. We have set up a working committee and have engaged a university professor to examine and explore all new approaches to address this with all the relevant agencies,” he said.

Lee said several experts in various fields would also be invited to a seminar to share their expertise before the end of the year.

He said based on this, a report with some strong recommendations would be submitted to the government on how to go about addressing this issue effectively.

This article was first reported on The Star. Photo in this article credit of The Star.