At least one large banking group has warned its staff to be extra vigilant and it is likely that other institutions are also taking similar measures.
It is not known if government departments and agencies have also been instructed to take added precautions against possible cyber attacks.
According to Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review, CIMB Group Holdings issued an internal notice on Thursday, alerting staff to the possibility of attacks against the country’s IT infrastructure.
“In view of the increasing political tension with North Korea, there could be cyber attacks against Malaysian websites and IT infrastructure,” the bank was quoted as saying.
It also warned its staff not to respond to dubious emails or open unidentified attachments in order to prevent security breaches.
Malaysia and North Korea have been at odds since the Feb 13 murder of Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of the republic’s leader Kim Jong Un.
Jong Nam was attacked by two women at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) in Sepang while awaiting a flight to Macau. They allegedly wiped his face with a substance later identified as VX nerve agent, a chemical poison classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations.
North Korea has been accused of hacking into other countries’ websites before, particularly those of South Korea and Japan.
Last December, South Korean authorities said the communist state had breached its military cyber command. A spokesman told the British Broadcasting Corporation that classified information was believed to have been stolen.
North Korea was also previously accused of hacking into South Korean banks and media outlets. However, Pyongyang has consistently rejected the allegations.
Yesterday, national news agency Bernama reported that North Korea had an active intelligence network in Malaysia. It said many agents worked as IT specialists, masquerading behind local companies in Cyberjaya in order to gather data internally.
The report added that the individuals had been specially trained before being selected by the regime to work abroad.