In the current era of the digital economy, the importance of cybersecurity cannot be understated. It can be strengthened through collaborations among industry players, according to CyberSecurity Malaysia.
As a starting point, the national cybersecurity body launched the CyberSecurity Malaysia Collaboration Programme (CCP), a public-private partnership (PPPs) that targets Malaysian registered companies that provide cybersecurity products and services, banding them to work together to deliver improved cybersecurity measures in the country.
According to CyberSecurity Malaysia, the country is among the top three ASEAN countries expected to contribute to 75% of cybersecurity services market share by the year 2025.
A major market research company noted recently forecast that Malaysia’s security services market will grow from RM1 billion in 2016 to RM2.5 billion by 2021.
The CEO of CSM noted that the agency initiated the CCP after receiving feedback from the industry on the need of a concerted effort between the government and industry to expand the network among local cybersecurity players through collaborative projects and to develop a skilled workforce.
CCP partners will reportedly benefit from community networking, capacity development programmes, capability development support as well as business opportunities.
CCP is in line with the Malaysia CyberSecurity Resilience Programme (MyCSRP), an initiative by CyberSecurity Malaysia under the purview of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (KKMM) to improve national cybersecurity.
The programme starting this year will reportedly be implemented in the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK12).
CCP was launched by the KKMM Secretary-General (Operations) during CyberSecurity Malaysia’s appreciation ceremony.
Several Malaysian organisations were awarded for their role in disseminating information and educating the community about cybersecurity’s best practices, new cyber threat trends and current issues during 2018.
Driving governmental cybersecurity goals
The review noted that the Eleventh Malaysia Plan, 2016-2020, marks the final phase towards achieving a developed and inclusive nation in line with the Vision 2020.
The review also stated that the advancement of emerging new technologies including blockchain, autonomous vehicle, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and advanced robotics, are causing the unprecedented rate of technological changes and the rapid pace of innovation.
As a result, industries are confronted with the constant pressure to reinvest in new production processes to cope with technological advancements and meet the fast-changing preferences of consumers.
The current slow pace of adoption and implementation of digital technology, new business models, Industry 4.0 initiatives and cybersecurity measures are hampering efforts in re-engineering economic growth.
In order to meet and overcome the challenges presented by the increased rate of cybercrimes, the Malaysian Government is working to employ more effective cybersecurity measures.
In the remaining Plan period, the digitalisation agenda will be pursued aggressively for higher digital adoption in the public service.
In this regard, digital governance in the public sector will be enhanced at the national and ministry levels to support the national digitalisation agenda.
In addition, the Government Online Services Gateway will be expanded to offer access to a wider range of online government services through a single portal. At the same time, various digital tools will be utilised in undertaking the Government digitalisation agenda.
One of the measures that will be undertaken to enhance government digitalisation efforts and encourage the use of online services is to strengthen cybersecurity protection.
This will be done through education; awareness on cybersecurity and safety will be incorporated into the school curriculum.
The Government is also developing initiatives that will strengthen self-reliance in cybersecurity and develop home-grown products and services as well as nurture start-ups companies to be competitive.
The aims of the CyberSecurity Malaysia Collaboration Programme are in line with the Government’s cyber security objectives, and it is expected that the former will help drive the latter, making Malaysia’s cyberspace more secure and keeping its digital citizens safe.
