KUALA LUMPUR: The Armed Forces needs a comprehensive facility to counter the increasing cyber and electro-magnetic threats.
Its chief Gen Tan Sri Affendi Buang said that the time had come for it to be solidly equipped with proper command, human resources and logistics in the ‘Industrial Revolution 4.0’ and 5G Internet.
“As we move forward in the advent of ‘cloud technologies’, ‘big data handling’, ‘industrial Internet of things’ and ‘system of sytems’, we must have the capability to protect ourselves from threats like ‘Denial of Service’, ‘Malware’ and ‘State Sponsored Hacking’ that can paralyse a nation in an eye-wink.
“We have to be competitive in this knowledge based economy that requires solid connectivity and authority of the cyber domain for network-centric operations,” he said this at his ‘grand command’ address since helming the armed forces, at the Defence Ministry in Jalan Padang Tembak.
His remarks come smack as the BBC reported on Tuesday that the United States’ National Security Agency discovered a major flaw in Microsoft’s ‘Windows 10’ that could have been used by hackers to create malicious software which appeared legitimate.
Affendi added that the year 2020 was crucial for the organisation as it moves towards the ‘4th Dimension Malaysian Armed Forces’ development plan, as stated in the Defence White Paper.
He said the plan involved the tri-services, i.e. the ‘Army for Next Generation’ (or Army 4 Next G), the Royal Malaysian Navy’s ‘15-to-5’ transformation programme and the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s ‘Capability Plan 2055’ (or CAP55).
Affendi called for good governance by practicing integrity, transparency, openness and inclusiveness in the national defence planning.
“Avoid corrupt practices, bureaucracy, embezzlement and abuse of power.
“Rather, improve your competency, skills and knowledge.
“This will augur well for confidence-building and avert a security dilemma in the region that can challenge our sovereignty,” he said.
On another note, Affendi said that despite the financial constraints the armed forces had to be smart to overcome the ‘to do more with less’, and still remain a credible and deterrent force.
“We have to be realistic with our ideals and identify our priorities so as to shore up our capabilities according to affordability.
“It is a ‘catch 22’ situation but we have to live with it, by optimising our resources,” he said.