Malaysian firm interested in helping Cambodia improve digital defence

Attending the Cyber Security Asia 2019 in Rosewood Hotel yesterday as a speaker and panelist, the head of Cybersecurity Malaysia expressed interest in engaging with the Kingdom on a bilateral level in the area of cybersecurity.

“Both countries are used to working on multilateral platforms, namely Asean and Asia Pacific CERT. I would like to explore more specific areas on a bilateral basis,” said Haji Amirudin Abdul Wahab, CEO of Cybersecurity Malaysia, a firm under the supervision of Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications and Multimedia.

Talking to Khmer Times, Mr Amirudin said he hopes to meet Cambodian officials and companies involved in cybersecurity to explore ways of building expertise in the Kingdom.

Mr Amirudin said this cooperation will help the Kingdom develop the human resources it needs and allow both countries to exchange information on cybersecurity matters.

“No country is safe when another is vulnerable,” stressed Mr Amirudin.

He said Cybersecurity Malaysia can use its 23-year experience in the sector to help neighbouring countries improve their digital defence. In the case of Cambodia, he said a partnership with the Malaysian firm can also help strengthen regulation in the sector, fast-tracking progress in cybersecurity.

Speaking at the conference, Mr Amirudin urged companies in every sector to equip themselves with the right knowledge and tools as exposure to the risks of cybersecurity becomes higher.

“Security often becomes an afterthought as long as everything seems to function well. It is important for companies focusing on digital transformation to embed security measures early on,” he stressed.

During the Digital Cambodia convention that took place in March this year, Eddin Syazlee Shith, Malaysian deputy minister for communications and multimedia, said his ministry plans to share knowledge and expertise on cybersecurity with local officials.

“We are ready to share working models on human resource development to create talent, and collaborate on capacity building in the cybersecurity sector which could be useful for both countries,” he said.

Cambodia has its own national computer emergency response team (CamCERT) dealing with computer security issues.