KUALA LUMPUR: CyberSecurity Malaysia has issued an alert to users and organisations to be cautious of possible phishing attacks by cybercriminals following the CrowdStrike global disruption.

The agency, in a Facebook posting, advised parties to be cautious of calls from unknown parties, data phishing emails, phishing websites or messages containing software updates or remote access requests to restore computers following the global disruption.

“Users and system administrators are also advised to take precautionary measures such as blocking dangerous domains with proxies, filtering spam and security mechanisms to prevent phishing and threats. They are also advised to continuously monitor to immediately detect and resolve issues.“Organisations should verify local products for critical systems and to test software updates carefully in simulated targeted environments to detect initial problems,” the agency said, Bernama reported.

CyberSecurity Malaysia also told users to use best practices and always confirm suspicious emails and links before clicking or downloading, especially from unknown senders.

“Check the domain name in the link in the email or SMS to ensure its authenticity and confirm the proper URL,” it said.

The agency added that users should ensure communications are from official sources and be alert to any phishing attempts masquerading as CrowdStrike or any other trusted entity. It also urged the public to immediately report any suspicious bank transactions to the bank’s hotline or contact the National Scam Response Centre at 997 within 24 hours.

Mass cyber outage on Friday affected key institutions such as airlines, banks and media outlets in several countries.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/07/22/agency-warns-of-phishing-threats-after-global-disruption