CYBERJAYA: Malaysia is on track to fill the existing 12,000 cybersecurity specialist shortage.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the collaboration with Canadian software company Blackberry Limited to open the Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (CCoE) was one of the ways to reach Malaysia's target of 25,000 cyber defenders by 2025.
"The CCoE is a milestone in our journey towards creating a robust cybersecurity ecosystem, necessitating strong partnerships across the public and private sectors.
"We commend Blackberry for helping to upskill our next generation of cyber-defenders, accelerating our goal to bolster national and regional security and innovation.
"Malaysia has a shortfall of 12,000 cybersecurity professionals. We need 25,000 workers in cybersecurity by 2025.
"We envision this center as a capacity-building hub for the wider Southeast Asian region, with a specific focus on enhancing threat intelligence sharing, and fostering regional cooperation in mitigating cybersecurity threats and combating cybercrime," he said in his speech at the CCoE opening ceremony, here, today.
Also in attendance was Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki.
He added that CCoE was more than a facility to help train and upskill our national workforce as it had the potential to be an international destination to address emerging cyber threats.
"We can bring together Malaysian and Canadian universities, research institutions and skilled practitioners to share knowledge, threat intelligence, and jointly develop methods and strategies to strengthen national and regional cyber-resilience.
"As the chosen location for the establishment of the CCoE, Malaysia aims to deliver upon our shared goal to establish a globally competitive skills and learning ecosystem in the Indo-Pacific region," he said.
He highlighted the importance of forging international partnerships, specifically those harnessing advanced technologies including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
He said it assumed importance in the positive growth of our economy's trajectory.
"Through this strategic collaboration, we not only stimulate economic advancement and prosperity but also bolster the resilience of our cyber security infrastructure against the myriad risks that pervade the digital landscape, by keeping the nation's data, conversations, and citizens safe," he said.
The CCoE curriculum offers training courses on BlackBerry cybersecurity products and services to upskill in areas such as AI and machine learning, as well as highly-specialised courses delivered by the SANS Institute, Canada's Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst and other internationally recognised certification partners.
It also offers select opportunities for scholarships for women cybersecurity professionals, with further plans to augment existing university curricula with CCoE student education programmes.