Barracuda Lauds Security Commission’s Cyber Security Guidelines for Malaysia

Barracuda Networks, Inc. (NYSE: CUDA), a leading provider of cloud-connected security and storage solutions, wholly welcomes the recent news of introducing new cyber security guidelines for capital markets by Securities Commission Malaysia (‘SC’), as it is viewed by the IT security community as a much needed measure to address the growing cyber threats happening worldwide.

Thiban Darmalingam, the Regional Manager of Barracuda in Malaysia shares, “As the foremost adaptors of technology, capital markets naturally are at a higher risk of being the target of cyber-attacks. The highly complex nature of cyber-attacks has seen serious, multi-effect implications in an ecosystem which is as interconnected as the capital markets.

Thiban Darmalingam

“It is essential that regulators, market participants, and other stakeholders work together to enhance the cyber security in the capital market. Securities Commission Malaysia’s move to introduce these new guidelines shows its seriousness in tackling these cyber risks.”

He adds, “Cybercrime is now the 2^nd most reported economic crime*. In fact, one in every three  companies have had experienced a cybercrime incident; and 22% of these companies experienced losses between USD100,000 to USD1 million. Organisations need to realise that cyber crime is not just an IT problem but is a serious business and economic issue.”
*PWC Global Economic Crime Survey 2016

Globally we are seeing an increase in technology adoption in capital market activities, operations of market intermediaries, market infrastructure and market-based financing platforms. While technology has helped both the industry and its customers function much more efficiently and effectively, the risks have increased and with so much money at stake, the sector is one of the top three targeted by cyber criminals.

National regulators worldwide have been waking up to the danger posed by a lack of deep understanding of the cyber risks, and strategies to reduce and remove these risks in the last few years. In the US and UK, the securities commission has made board members of financial organisations responsible for cyber risks.

 Most financial organisations already have systems and teams in place for GRC (Governance, risk management and compliance). The board and the senior management should work with these teams to ensure that they are in compliance with the various risk management guidelines and regulations.

“It is essential that companies take the necessary steps to prevent and prepare for potential cyber-attacks. Prevention is better than cure, rings true in terms of cyber security as well. Shareholders data needs to be protected to ensure market confidence is maintained,” adds Thiban.

“Ideally, these organisations should use the government guidelines as a baseline and improve on them to ensure maximum cyber risk mitigation. Systems and processes should be brought into place in a rapid and phased manner to ensure all bases are covered.”

Cyber risk strategy has a large culture component that is often ignored. Many cyber risk strategies involve user-unfriendly practises – like frequent changing of passwords, or not allowing the use of cloud services for instance. Typically, users will try to go around these policies to ensure that they can get their work done easily. The onus is on the board of directors and senior management to ensure that the cyber risks are understood and a culture of respecting and following the rules is imbued in the organisation.

“Cyber protection should be like an onion – multi-layered, starting with the firewall in front of the network, layered with the web application firewall protecting web applications and services, email and web security to prevent infections and backup to ensure that all is not lost in case of an infection,” he ends.

Barracuda Networks provides a wide variety of solutions on every platform that allow organisations to detect, protect and recover themselves against cyber risks and attacks. From Email Security to Vulnerability detectors, to Web Security Gateway, Firewalls to Backup; Barracuda products provide Total Threat Protection and mitigate cyber risks whethere on physical storage or cloud to the maximum extent.

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 About Barracuda Networks, Inc. (NYSE: CUDA)

Barracuda provides cloud-connected security and storage solutions that simplify IT. These powerful, easy-to-use and affordable solutions are trusted by more than 150,000 organisation s worldwide and are delivered in appliance, virtual appliance, cloud and hybrid deployments. Barracuda’s customer-centric business model focuses on delivering high-value, subscription-based IT solutions that provide end-to-end network and data security. For additional information, please visit http://www.barracuda.com or follow us on Twitter: @barracuda