KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Armed Forces has since last year established a cyber defence unit to safeguard classified information on the nation’s defence system from being leaked or hacked.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein announced this today following the alleged leak of secret data on the French-made Scorpene-class submarines.

“This unit closely monitors cyber activities that pose a potential threat to the country’s defence system.

“It is also working towards strengthening the cyber defence system, conduct security posture audits as well as cyber forensics,” he told reporters here today.

The Royal Malaysian Navy has two Scorpene-class submarines under its fleet: the KD Tunku Abdul Rahman and the KD Tun Abdul Razak.

Hishammuddin said the cyber defence unit was under the purview of the Defence Staff Intelligence Division, the military intelligence agency of the armed forces.

He added that there had been several unsuccessful attempts to infiltrate the country’s closely-guarded military secrets.-nst