CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd is making dark web monitoring through its SecureID available to all Malaysians free of charge for one-month, effective Monday, Oct 4.

In a statement on Saturday October 3, 2021, CTOS stated that its data assets are secure.

This comes on the heels of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) temporarily suspending Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) services to credit reporting agencies on Friday October 1st.  In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Friday, CTOS Digital Bhd said its wholly-owned subsidiary CTOS Data Systems had received a letter/directive from the central bank regarding the temporary suspension of access.

“The temporary suspension is a proactive, precautionary and necessary step against potential cyberthreats and possibility of data leak incidents in the credit reporting industry.  “Pursuant to BNM’s suspension decision, we will momentarily halt reports and services containing CCRIS information on our platform,” it said.

On Saturday, CTOS group chief executive officer (CEO) Dennis Martin assured the public that as of now, there are no indications that its data assets had been breached.  He stated: “CTOS places paramount importance on cybersecurity risk and data breach protection, with all data and information in our possession protected with world-class certified data security technology.

Martin said the firm will continue to make significant investments to ensure that its information technology (IT) and data security framework, policies, procedures and systems are benchmarked against BNM’s Risk Management in Technology (RMiT) standard and ISO 27001, as well as other global standards.

He explained that as cyberattacks are becoming more frequent and sophisticated, the company had also stepped up its proactive assessments and processes to protect the integrity of its data.

He also clarified that BNM’s decision to temporarily suspend access to CCRIS services is applicable to all credit reporting agencies and not just CTOS.  He added that the industry-wide move is a precautionary measure to further protect customers’ information.

Martin assured customers that CTOS is working closely and expeditiously with the related regulators to monitor the situation, and is also conducting additional assessments to identify if further security measures are needed.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets.com