SUBANG JAYA: LE Global Services Sdn Bhd (LGMS) has launched the Asia Cybersecurity Exchange (AsiaCyberX) to propel Malaysia to be a major cybersecurity hub in the borderless realm of the Internet.
LGMS chief executive officer Fong Choong Fook said AsiaCyberX's mission is to grow the talent pool for cybersecurity experts and technology start-ups with huge growth potential.
AsiaCyberX is solely owned by ACE Accelerator Network Sdn Bhd and has formed a partnership between LGMS and the ACE Group, which is involved in financial services, investments and capital management.
“AsiaCyberX’s mission is to identify undiscovered cybersecurity talent and tech companies with huge growth potential,” said Fong.
One of AsiaCyberX’s objectives is to train 240 cybersecurity talent recruited from eight universities and ACE Group has set aside RM200 million to invest in technological start ups providing cybersecurity services.
“We will be training security analysts who will work to prevent and mitigate security breaches and security managers needed to develop and implement overarching processes to keep information private,” Fong added.
Communications and Multimedia Deputy Minister Datuk Jailani Johari said cybersecurity requires concerted effort among the government and the industry to drive digital innovation.
Jailani said cybersecurity lies within the purview of the National Security Council.
Recognising the increasing risks of cyber hacking, the government established the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) to develop and implement national cyber security management policies, including combatting cyber crime.
According to the December 2017 LinkedIn report on cybersecurity talent in Malaysia, Jailani noted that 21 per cent of Malaysia's cybersecurity workforce are women (compared to 11 per cent in the US).
However, he lamented the 'funnel' of new talent is not enough to sustain the growing demand of data scientists for Malaysia to embrace a digital economy.
“It is therefore timely that this Asia Cybersecurity Exchange is the first cybersecurity hub in Malaysia, to provide a central platform for cybersecurity innovation and capacity building programmes with the support of NACSA and MDEC,” he added.