KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia needs to strengthen its operational cyber resilience, as recent attacks targeting supermarket refrigeration systems in Europe have exposed vulnerabilities in connected systems that could disrupt food supply chains, according to a cyber security expert.
Adjunct Professor of Cybersecurity Practice at the University Malaysia of Computer Science and Engineering (UNIMY), Murugason R. Thangaratnam, said attackers did not need advanced hacking skills, as everyday connected systems, such as refrigeration controllers, building management systems and monitoring platforms, were built for convenience and uninterrupted operation rather than security.
"So once they (appliances) are online, they become part of the attack surface. So this is one of the biggest gaps we seem to be having at the moment. It is how operational technology (OT) security is converging with information technology (IT) security.
