The East Malaysian state of Sabah intends to establish itself as the center of excellence for cybersecurity. The Sabahan State Government has assigned a state-owned technology firm, Sabah Net Sdn Bhd to undertake the security facilities project in collaboration with the leading ICT provider in the country, Fortinet Malaysia.
Sabah Net Chairman Datuk Mohamed Razali Mohamed Razi said that the firm is using a combination of industry-leading tools designed to provide top protection for its customers’ data and systems. It has signed a partnership with top security solutions firm, Fortinet Malaysia in July 2022 which focuses on obtaining best cybersecurity practices, addressing the shortage of professional cybersecurity, and creating more local jobs. The firm aims to nurture at least 100 certified Fortinet engineers in the next 3 to 5 years via the Fortinet Network Security Expert Certification Program.
In 2021, the Malaysian Computer Emergency Response Team (MyCERT) reported 10,016 cybersecurity-related cases. It was noted that there have been several cybersecurity breaches in the government agencies demonstrating that Malaysia was neither prepared nor ready for a cyber-attack. One of the alleged cases was when the personal data of 22.5 million people was leaked, ranging from their full names to their identification number, home address, contact and ID numbers, which was stolen from government servers and sold on the dark web for USD 10,000. Also, in July 2022, the Education Ministry’s website was hacked and local cybersecurity consultant Fong Chong Fook responded that the security system of the Education Ministry has proven to be a bad example of a government agency’s digital security. This has further showcased the potential threat for the country to suffer significant losses of data and information if it did not act accordingly.
(Sources: New Straits Times; Sun Daily; Malaysian Insight)
