Asean member states should secure domestic critical information infrastructure and collaborate with each other to neutralise and counter the threat of cybercrime, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said.

The prime minister said the threat posed by cybercrime is not only economic but also encompasses the military and social spheres, and therefore Asean could not afford to be complacent about it.

"Cyber criminals do not recognise national boundaries, which makes it crucial that the Asean member states respond to their actions – and even intentions – in a united manner," he said in a written response to questions posed by Bernama today.

According to a report from Intel Security and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in 2014, cybercrime costs the global economy approximately US$575 billion annually, which is equivalent to 0.8 percent of the global economy.

This, Najib said demonstrated that cybercrime is a rising threat to nations, corporations and individuals around the world.

"I have warned of this in the past and believe there is increasing recognition within Asean that we must take measures to neutralise this threat. I am confident that we are moving in the right direction," he said.

As a first step, the Asean ICT Masterplan 2015 has placed a specific emphasis on promoting network integrity and information security, which will contribute to the overall state of cybersecurity readiness among member states.

Recently, Asean defence ministers were considering to establish the expert working group in Plus format on cyber security during a retreat after sharing mutual concern on growing threat of cybercrimes.

- Bernama