PUTRAJAYA, July 30 – The massive IT outage on July 20 that disrupted services worldwide, including Terminal 2 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), was not a cyberattack but a failure by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, Digital Minister Gobind Singh clarified today. Speaking at a press conference, Gobind stated that the government is seeking answers from Microsoft regarding the incident.
He emphasized that the outage resulted from a system weakness and reassured the public of the government’s commitment to digital security through legislative measures like the Cybersecurity Act and amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). Gobind noted that five government agencies, including the Ministry of Transport and the Education Ministry, were affected by the outage but have since resumed normal operations with no data loss.
He also warned the public against phishing attempts exploiting the situation, urging vigilance. Gobind added that the government is pressing Microsoft for compensation for affected parties, including airlines and banks, and is working to improve digital platform management to prevent future incidents.
