Bursa Malaysia Berhad has established a dedicated industry working group aimed at fortifying cyber resilience across the nation’s stockbroking ecosystem, according to an announcement Friday.
The move is in a direct response to an unauthorized trading incident in April that rattled investor confidence and exposed systemic vulnerabilities in digital infrastructure.
“The industry working group represents a concerted effort to strengthen the cyber resiliency of our trading ecosystem,” said Bursa Malaysia CEO Dato’ Fad’l Mohamed. “Cyber resiliency is the cornerstone of a trusted and vibrant capital market.”
The working group, chaired by Chief Regulatory Officer Encik Julian M. Hashim, includes representatives from four bank-backed participating organizations (POs), two non-bank POs, and two independent cybersecurity experts.
The group convened its first meeting on June 17 and agreed on a four-month timeline to deliver a comprehensive recommendation paper for industry-wide implementation.
Its mandate covers assessing current cybersecurity practices, identifying systemic risks, establishing new ICT risk management and incident response standards, and proposing regulatory enhancements.
This initiative marks a significant shift toward collective cyber defense, following the April 24 breach, and is part of a broader regulatory push by the exchange.
In May, Bursa Malaysia mandated that all stockbroking firms implement multi-factor authentication by year-end—a measure aimed at shielding trading accounts from unauthorized access.
Firms have since stepped up protective actions, including forced password resets, real-time login monitoring, IP address filtering, and enhanced client alerts.
“Consultation with stakeholders will ensure that our final recommendations are practical and scalable,” the exchange said, noting the diversity in operations among brokerage firms.
As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, regulators across Asia are tightening scrutiny of digital infrastructure in capital markets.
Bursa Malaysia’s working group is one of the region’s most structured responses yet, emphasizing the need for both industry cooperation and regulatory leadership to maintain market integrity.
The move reflects Bursa Malaysia’s ongoing strategy to enhance investor trust and digital readiness as it positions itself among ASEAN’s most advanced multi-asset exchanges.
Business News Asia