KUCHING, June 9: Banks should perform an internal investigation and report an incident to the authorities immediately whenever a complaint involving financial crime is lodged, opined Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Women chief Kho Teck Wan.
Kho said without such proactive actions, people will slowly lost their confidence in financial institutions, which can result in serious consequences to the future prospects of the banking sector.
“Bank Consumer and Investor Offices (CIOs) and management should take this opportunity to assess, improve and strengthen information security in the organisation,” she said in a statement today.
Kho pointed out that the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) should also work with the police to investigate the cases that were reported lately.
According to her, as of May 2022, out of 3,057 cyber crimes reported to Cyber Security Malaysia, 2,147 are classified as fraud.
She said complex investigations may be time consuming, but perpetrators need be stopped and the public needs to know how the crime was committed so they can avoid becoming the next victim.
“The lukewarm response from law enforcement currently is disappointing.
“Based on the results of the investigation, Bank Negara should take action against any bank should they fail to comply with Risk Management in technology outlined by Bank Negara,” she added.
Meanwhile, Kho, who is also former data storage lead for Tyson Food Inc in USA, and information Security Architect for Sarawak Energy Berhad, advised the public to practice common sense and always be vigilant when engaging in any online activities.
She said the public should inform the bank and lodge a police report immediately should they become the victims of a cyber crime.
“Public are generally not aware of cyber crimes, the complexity of the digital crime can be hard to explain as well.
“Enforcement, regularity bodies, government agencies and banks should work together to stop or reduce the frequency of financial crimes,” she said. — DayakDaily
