Conveying their message through a video posted on social media, the group said that they would launch cyber attacks against government websites and online assets soon.

Why?

It's meant to be a "wake-up call for the government of Malaysia".

The group accused the government of remaining silent despite multiple data breaches in the last few years.

Voicing their views through a video which starts with a dramatic intro accompanied by the song 'Ain't No Grave' by Hidden Citizens, a person wearing a Guy Fawkes mask then is seen.

The message

"Greeting Malaysian. We are Anonymous Malaysia. This is message to Government Malaysia.

“Your security system is low, all data may be leak. This can cause unwanted hacker selling all information," the masked person said with an altered voice.

The person goes on to say that there have been information breaches involving telco companies with scam cases on the rise.

The person also said that the reason for this was due to the authorities not wanting to learn and grow from their mistakes.

"It had been a long time. We are silent. It's time open your eyes.

"We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us," the person said.

Previous attacks

While some may brush off the threat, we're pretty sure officials in the Government are taking it seriously.

This is because this isn't the first time that Anonymous Malaysia has tried hacking governmental sites.

According to Malay Mail, their last major attack was in 2011 when they managed to take down 91 governmental sites including the government’s official portal.

This was after Putrajaya blocked and censored access to various websites including torrent search engine The Pirate Bay.

In 2015, the group also made headlines when they demanded that the then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak resign.

If their demands were not met, the group threatened to target the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and 150 other websites.

Also in 2015, Anonymous Malaysia threated to blow up the car belonging to then inspector-general of police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar. That did not happen though.

A global movement

Anonymous itself is a decentralised hacktivist movement that usually launches cyber attacks against governmental institutions and corporations.

According to Wikipedia, dozens of people have been arrested for their involvement in Anonymous cyberattacks including in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, India, and Turkey.

The group usually uses the emblem of the man without a head and when conversing through video, they use Guy Fawkes masks.

The usage of the mask could be linked to the film 'V for Vendetta'.

Since the film was released in 2005, the Guy Fawkes mask has been used by various groups protesting against politicians, banks and financial institutions.

Since the message went up last night (25 January), thousands have shared and commented on Anonymous Malaysia's posts (both positive and negative comments).