Bursa Malaysia Sets Up Industry Working Group To Boost Cyber Resilience

KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia Bhd has established an industry working group to enhance cyber resilience across Malaysia’s stockbroking ecosystem as a coordinated action following the unauthorised trade incident on April 24, 2025.

Its chief executive officer, Datuk Fad'l Mohamed, said the industry working group represents a concerted effort to strengthen the cyber resiliency of our trading ecosystem.

“The industry recognises that cyber resiliency is not just a technology best practice; it is the cornerstone of a trusted and vibrant capital market. 

“A resilient ecosystem safeguards investor confidence, upholds market integrity, and ensures that our digital infrastructure can withstand and adapt to evolving threats,” he said in a statement today.

Bursa Malaysia said its chief regulatory officer, Julian M Hashim, will chair the industry working group, which comprises representatives from four bank-backed participating organisations (POs), two non-bank POs, and two subject matter experts in cybersecurity.

It said the working group aims to finalise its recommendation paper within four months, with the subsequent phase focused on implementing the proposed measures.

“Recognising the diversity in operational complexity across stockbroking firms, consultation with the industry will be carried out to ensure the recommendation paper is practical and fit for purpose,” it said.

The working group held its inaugural meeting on June 17, 2025, where it finalised its terms of reference, which include reviewing current cybersecurity measures and identifying weaknesses in the stockbroking system; setting industry-wide information and communication technology (ICT) risk management; and recommending enhancements to regulations and procedures to improve cyber resilience.

Bursa Malaysia stated that in recent months, stockbroking firms have adopted precautionary measures, including mandatory password resets, enhanced monitoring of unusual logins, blocking suspicious Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and issuing client alerts to ensure that login details are always kept secure.

In line with these efforts, Bursa Malaysia issued a directive on May 21, 2025, mandating that all stockbroking firms implement multi-factor authentication by the end of the year, which is a critical step towards enhancing the security of investor trading accounts and mitigating the risk of unauthorised access.

-- BERNAMA