Financial institutions are the top target for computer hackers in Malaysia amid a rise in cyber crimes, a senior official said today.

Chia Kwang Chye, parliamentary secretary in the ministry of energy, communications and multimedia, said 415 attacks were reported in the first six months of this year.

In comparison, there were 739 security breaches in computer systems reported for the whole of last year.

Sixty-seven percent of the cases were reported in the private sector and the bulk of those were in the financial services industry, he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

Among the more common cyber crimes were hacking (192 cases) and the introduction of viruses (134 cases). - AFP