KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd has suspended trading access for Malaysia-listed securities across its M+Global mobile app, web portal and dealer channels effective March 24, citing an industry-wide "precautionary cybersecurity screening exercise".
The screening involves "a third-party order management system vendor used by multiple market participants", and is implemented in accordance with regulatory directive, according to a notice on its website.
This means that order placement for Malaysia securities across all its channels is temporarily unavailable until further notice. Contract dues will continue to be processed automatically, but all good-till-date and good-till-cancelled orders have been voided.
Trading in US and Hong Kong markets remains unaffected, with services operating as normal via M+Global, it said.
Client assets remain secure, Malacca Securities assured. Central depository system (CDS) accounts, cash balances and securities remain fully intact and segregated under the applicable regulatory framework.
Acknowledging the disruption to active traders, the firm said it is working to "restore full online functionality as quickly as possible”. At the time of publication, Malacca Securities had yet to respond to requests for comment from The Edge.
Bursa confirms cybersecurity incident
Bursa Malaysia Bhd (KL:BURSA), in a written reply, revealed that Malacca Securities had reported a cybersecurity incident on March 19 involving a specific system component. The exchange noted that the threat has since been contained.
Upon receiving this report, Bursa had immediately activated cybersecurity response protocols. This allowed Malacca Securities to conduct "comprehensive threat hunting and remediation" to safeguard against further threats, and ensured the continued maintenance and resilience of the market and trading infrastructure.
The exchange also stressed that the incident is limited to Malacca Securities, with no impact on Bursa Malaysia’s networks, platforms or market operations. “Market integrity remains intact,” Bursa said, adding that it is working closely with the brokerage to restore operations in a safe and controlled manner.
This latest disruption follows a broader cybersecurity incident reported less than two weeks ago, in which several brokerages — including UOB Kay Hian, Phillip Capital and Hong Leong Investment Bank — experienced multi-day outages. The problem was traced to a trading platform vendor, one of the people familiar with the matter had told The Edge.
Bursa said the issue was confined to the affected brokers’ systems, with no impact on the exchange's networks or market operations. The exchange had also directed those affected and their selected vendors to conduct a full review of their systems.