Govt plans to engage with hackers

(Bernama) – The Government plans to engage with cyber hackers to understand them better and put their skill to good use, Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof said Tuesday.

It planned attending their annual conferences of cyber hackers who, he said, “should not be looked at only negatively”.

“CyberSecurity, the National Security Council, police and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission must be with them so that we can get to know a bigger networking circle among the hackers,” he told reporters here.

The Government would be better able to distinguish between good and bad hackers and also “learn… how to defend ourselves,” he added after opening a seminar on legal and technical aspects of cyber crime.

The three-day seminar is organised by the Attorney-General’s Chambers in collaboration with CyberSecurity Malaysia.

Meanwhile, CyberSecurity Chief Executive Officer Lt Col Datuk Husin Jazri said there were lessons learnt from the recent cyber hacking incident.

He said there was need to engage with young people who possess hacking talent.

“Sometimes these young people are not happy with certain issues or action and resort to hacking. We need to engage with them so that we can turn them around to channel their dissatisfaction and grievances in a positive way,” he said.