Malaysia Pulse delivers breaking news, politics, business, sports and lifestyle coverage from Malaysia and Southeast Asia — trusted, timely and independent.
Malaysia's cybersecurity authority MyCert has issued an urgent warning about malware being distributed through WhatsApp, with attackers using deceptive file names mimicking financial and legal documents to compromise Windows computers and steal sensitive data.
India's Home Ministry has submitted a report documenting widespread use of Telegram for sharing child sexual abuse material and perpetrating financial scams, with over 688,000 fraud complaints since 2023 causing estimated $750 million in losses.
A ransomware group has posted over 200,000 files allegedly stolen from Tata Electronics on the dark web, including confidential Apple and Tesla documents. The breach threatens India's push to become a global electronics manufacturing hub.
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Malaysia's government has introduced the Cybercrime Bill 2026 in Parliament, replacing the 29-year-old Computer Crimes Act 1997. The new legislation addresses contemporary digital threats including ransomware, identity theft, and AI misuse, with penalties reaching RM3 million.
Two British defendants face trial over a major cyberattack on Transport for London that compromised data for 10 million passengers and caused £39 million in losses. The incident is linked to international hacking group Scattered Spider.
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Sabak Bernam mobilises 32,461 NADI community members as digital safety ambassadors, extending online literacy efforts beyond cities to grassroots level with interactive campaigns.
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Malaysia's National Security Council has clarified that viral claims of personal data leaks stem from cybersecurity breaches occurring before 2022 and are unrelated to any active government platforms.
Nintendo has disclosed a cybersecurity incident involving third-party vendor TINYpulse after hackers demanded $2 million in ransom. The breach exposed employee survey data but no customer information was compromised.
A comprehensive study has exposed how illegal streaming services put consumers at significant risk of malware infections, identity theft, and financial fraud. Researchers found nearly half of pirate apps contained malicious code.
Iran reported a targeted cyberattack disrupted operations at four banks including the National Bank of Iran, Bank Tejarat, Bank Saderat Iran, and Bank Tosee Saderat. Officials said no customer information was accessed or lost.
Malaysia is doubling down on digital governance and sovereign artificial intelligence development to protect national interests, deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said at a major public relations conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Passkeys have become the preferred authentication method, with 5 billion now in use globally. They offer superior protection against phishing attacks compared to traditional passwords.
A waste disposal firm in Hokkaido failed to properly destroy hard drives from two hospitals, leading to a data breach affecting up to 510,000 people. Personal information including medical records was exposed on the second-hand market.
Cybercriminals are launching a new phishing campaign against Signal users, posing as the messaging app's support team to extract recovery keys and gain access to encrypted data. This marks the second major attack on Signal this year.
A George Town entrepreneur who was defrauded of nearly RM400,000 has publicly warned others about increasingly complex online loan scam operations.
Tensions between the Trump administration and AI firm Anthropic are thawing after months of friction over military use of its models. The warming ties come as Anthropic prepares for an IPO that could value the company at $1 trillion.
Attackers tricked Meta's artificial intelligence chatbot into granting access to prominent Instagram accounts, highlighting dangerous vulnerabilities in the company's automation strategy.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim visited the Malaysian Cryptology Technology and Management Centre today to witness the launch of the Cyber Security Cryptology Development Centre and the Post-Quantum Cryptography initiative.
Artificial intelligence is enabling criminals to convincingly impersonate family members in scams that have cost Americans billions of dollars. Voice cloning tools, easily accessible online, are being used to extract emergency cash payments from vulnerable targets.
A UK parliamentary committee has identified US data analytics firm Palantir as a significant strategic weakness, highlighting concerns over the government's £330 million NHS contract and broader reliance on foreign technology providers.
The Trump administration has signed an executive order directing major AI companies to voluntarily submit their most advanced models for government cybersecurity testing before public launch, marking a shift toward closer federal oversight of the technology sector.
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The Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association has endorsed the government's newly enforced age verification requirement for social media users under 16, citing protection against cyber threats and inappropriate content exposure.
India's Central Board of Secondary Education has acknowledged security weaknesses in its OnMark grading portal for school exams, following a public disclosure by teenage cybersecurity researcher Nisarga Adhikary of multiple critical vulnerabilities.
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Malaysia's top security official has emphasised artificial intelligence as vital to unifying border control operations across all domains, part of the National Border Security Control Master Plan 2026-2030.
India is evaluating its exposure to Anthropic's Mythos AI model by testing vulnerabilities in critical banking and government applications. Infosys and TCS are among firms assessing their systems using Claude Opus 4.7.
Cybercriminals are impersonating officials of Thailand's Thais Help Thais Plus 60/40 scheme, sending deceptive SMS and chat messages to pressure citizens into clicking malicious links and disclosing sensitive personal data.
Cybercriminals breached Tunisie Telecom's MyTT application to display a message questioning government promises. The operator confirmed the attack was quickly contained without compromising user data.
The European Central Bank is pressuring financial institutions to urgently upgrade their IT security infrastructure, citing risks posed by powerful artificial intelligence systems capable of identifying system vulnerabilities in minutes.
The Trump administration has shelved an executive order designed to enhance AI cybersecurity, leaving the United States lagging behind Europe and Asia in technology regulation. Silicon Valley leaders reportedly influenced the decision.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim highlighted that the Malaysia CyberSecurity Centre of Excellence in Cyberjaya has trained nearly 10,000 civil servants and ICT professionals through courses and certifications to bolster national cyber defence capabilities.
American financial regulators are temporarily halting certain cybersecurity examinations of major banks, permitting institutions to evaluate risks posed by Anthropic's newly developed Mythos AI model without examination pressure.