Goh Chee Hoh
KUCHING (Oct 10): Several firms applaud cybersecurity measures announced under Budget 2023, specifically the RM73 million allocation to strengthen cybersecurity as well as RM100 million to support the development of local technology companies.
Trend Micro Malaysia commends the Malaysian government’s unwavering commitment to elevating the country’s digital security landscape in the Budget 2023 tabling.
Accodung to its managing director Goh Chee Hoh, the targeted cybersecurity measures outlined will not only boost the nation’s cybersecurity but also serve to increase stakeholder and end-user confidence.
“Ultimately, the nation’s business competitiveness will definitely be boosted as well, in line with Malaysia’s sustained drive towards becoming a resilient and sustainable nation, across the digital realm as well,” Goh commented in a statement.
Suk Hua Lim
Meanwhile, Palo Alto Networks Malaysia country maanger Suk Hua Lim was heartened to see the Malaysian government triple its cybersecurity investment threefold from RM21 million in 2021 to RM73 million this year.
“We applaud the initiatives set up for incident response and overall awareness,” she said. “What is more crucial is to pay attention to the fundamentals which include shoring up investment in cybersecurity defence infrastructure and early detection.
“This is key to the success of a 5G rollout in the pipeline.”
Chan Kee Siak
The sentiment was echoed by Chan Kee Siak, group chief executive officer of Exabytes who saw these Budget initiatives as part of the government’s commitment towards advancing digitalisation in the country.
“It is clear that the government intends to maximise the potential of the digital economy, reflected in its effort to enhance the industry’s ecosystem which will benefit the nation as a whole.
“With the government’s RM100 million allocation to support the development of technology companies, Malaysia is set to witness further technological advancements that will encourage the adoption of digitalisation. This is crucial towards developing its future talents and achieving a high income status.
“Moreover, a total of RM73 million that will be allocated to strengthen cybersecurity in Malaysia will help boost the monitoring, detection and reporting of cybersecurity threats.”
Trend Micro’s Goh also lauded the establishment of a National Scam Response Center, in collaboration with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), National Anti-Financial Crime Center (NFCC), and the financial institutions.
“This is pivotal as the centralisation of the various leading national agencies under a single unit will strategically enhance our country’s unwavering efforts in combating cybercrime.
The establishment of the center certainly synergizes well with the proposed allocation of RM73 million to CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM) to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity resilience by improving the monitoring, detection, and cybercrime reporting capabilities.
We trust that the government will remain steadfast in strengthening the nation’s data security stance, by continuing to enhance existing legal provisions to protect the country against new or heightened cyber risk perpetrated by cybercriminals.
“Apart from establishing the required infrastructure, proactive and effective cybersecurity investments and measures should also be looked into to ensure business continuity.”