CYBERCRIMES are growing as new technology evolves. In recent times, cybercriminals have become more sophisticated by using more advanced and malicious tools to breach user privacy.
As the COVID-19 crisis accelerated the adoption of technology and fundamentally changed the way people work, the pandemic gave cybercriminals the advantage.
Cyber criminals have capitalised on the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic with ransomware being a common modus operandi. Recent international cyberattacks on healthcare systems, national gas pipelines and water supplies show a ruthless drive for profit at the expense of human lives.
“Cyberattacks are no longer just a business issue but have become a threat to national security,” said KPMG Malaysia’s cyber head Jaco Benadie.
Benadie added that the problem with cyberattacks such as ransomware is that these are essentially ‘borderless’ crimes. And one of the reasons behind the growing brazenness is due to the lack of legal ramifications against these types of attacks.
“Most of these criminals cannot be held accountable for their actions if they are based in a different country from where the crime is committed without any law enforcement collaboration agreements in place,” Benadie pointed out.
Meanwhile, 41% of organisations worldwide reported experiencing increased incidents of ransomware attacks while employees were working remotely. Cyber criminals have profited upwards of US$350 mil in 2020, an increase of 311% from 2019, from ransomware.
“These incidents will likely proliferate if there is no concentrated effort between local and international diplomatic and law enforcement authorities to proactively combat ransomware,” Benadie remarked.
In addition, according to Trend Micro – global leader in cybersecurity solutions – newly detected ransomware families increased 34% in 2020 with “double extortion” attacks and more targeted threats becoming increasingly popular with government, banking, manufacturing and healthcare were the most targeted sectors while Malaysia is ranked seventh in Asia for ransomware.
Ransomware crimes hard to track
Benadie explained that ransomware crimes are challenging to track because there is presently no regulatory mandate for Malaysian companies to report cyber incidents.
Moreover, with ransoms requested and paid for using cryptocurrencies, the crime can be perpetuated with little to no trace to the criminals, hence the lack of prosecutions.
Furthermore, Benadie shared that organizations at the mercy of criminals may also not be willing to disclose that they have been victims of cyberattacks or ransomware lest they risk reputational damage, indicating that cyberattack figures may be significantly higher than reported.
Thus, he opined that the Malaysian Government can play a pivotal role to engender confidence among businesses that there are adequate support mechanisms to help victims with no resources to protect themselves.
“One approach can be to establish a national framework to help businesses prepare for and respond to ransomware attacks,” Bedanine proposed.
Gov’t should introduce stricter regulations
There have been discussions in other jurisdictions about the feasibility of mandatory reporting of ransom payments or making it illegal, but this approach comes with its own pros and cons.
“The Government can also introduce stricter cryptocurrency regulations to ensure cryptocurrency exchanges are better regulated including KYC, AML and CFT laws and make it more difficult for criminals to launder ransomware proceeds,” Bedanie suggested.
In fact, the Malaysian Government has taken positive steps forward in the fight against ransomware with the setting up of a special task force to identify and study cyber security issues for the purpose of enacting relevant laws as part of the Malaysia Cyber Security Strategy (MCSS).
“While a good start, more can be done. Ransomware attacks are first and foremost profit-motivated crimes, therefore, a stringent approach is required to cull emboldened criminals from further callous attacks,” Jaco advised.
However, this is a massive undertaking that will require time. In the meantime, businesses must consider taking measures to stay on top of the threat.
The changing shape of ransomware, a latest report by KPMG International, notes that the massive shift to remote working presented opportunities and network vulnerabilities for criminals to exploit via phishing or remote access attacks.
“Businesses need to ensure that they have both proactive and reactive steps in place to reduce impact and minimize business disruption,” Bedanie concluded. – June 10, 2021
