KUALA LUMPUR: The impact of digital security breaches on the global economy will rise from US$400 billion (RM1.63 trillion) registered in 2015 to US$1.2 trillion (RM4.9 trillion) by 2020.
An industry expert has called on Malaysia to play a leading regional role in checking the menace.
The Indian Navy’s former additional director-general Dr Prem Chand said it was imperative for Malaysia to accept seamlessly secure digital infrastructures.
“This will be a strategic enabler for economic growth, military strength, social wellbeing, political stability and a regional player in South Asia,” said Chand, who is also Tech Mahindra’s corporate head and vice-president.
He said this during his presentation entitled “Building Secure Digital Infrastructures — The New Frontier: Strategic Imperative and Critical Impact for Malaysia” and “C2C and T7 Global Strategy”.
Chand said secured digital infrastructures were globally transformative, disruptive, game changers and poised to drive economies in the 21st century.
He warned that networks underpinning the digital infrastructures were no longer utility infrastructures.
“They touch the lives of millions of citizens putting them in a direct line of fire, in case of large-scale cyber attacks.
“They are germane to a country’s survival and sustenance in social, political, economic and military terms.
“They are the core infrastructures which must be developed and manufactured to ensure seamless security against cyber risks,” he said, adding that networking components such as switches, routers and chassis, were the foundational blocks to build networks, data centers, storage and other cloud infrastructure.
“Malaysia, like many other countries, have overlooked this crucial capability building area and depends on over 95 per cent imports, except for some low-end networking appliances.
“Cyber security of the digital infrastructures has become a national security necessity.
“Malaysian planners had made significant investments in creating organisations like Cyber Security Malaysia (CSM) to build information, communications and technology security capability, capacity and delivery mechanisms,” he said.
“Cyber intelligence has gaps, the Internet monitoring and control is wanting, and a military-grade cyber defense and deterrence capability is not yet in place.
“There is a need for Malaysia to raise its digital infrastructure-building capability bar to meet the 21st century challenges.
“This is best done by embracing contemporary networking and security technologies as strategic enablers and the lynch-pin of Malaysia’s economic growth, social well-being and political stability.”
He said Malaysia had the critical mass to become a regional hub for South Asia in education, innovation, research and technology development in the area of secure digital infrastructure building.
“Malaysia can fill up the capability and capacity gaps by collaborating globally and by promoting the country as a honey pot for national and regional digital community to converge and pool together a body of knowledge, expertise and experience in security,” he said.
He said Malaysia should focus on the protection of its critical information infrastructures, build platforms for cyber resilience and deterrence, build credible threat intelligence platforms, create wherewithal for controlling and monitoring of the Internet and other cyber media platforms.
Dr Chand added that Malaysia was best placed to build capability and capacity in these areas not only for its own requirements, but could offer these to neighbouring countries.