PGI to set up UK-APAC Centre of Security Excellence in Malaysia

Yasmin Mahmood, CEO of the Malaysian Digital Economic Corporation (MDEC), and Barry Roche, CEO of Protection Group International (PGI), today signed an agreement to collaborate to strengthen and develop cybersecurity capacity in Malaysia, and to work together to develop a cybersecurity academy in Malaysia. The collaboration was signed in the presence of UK and MDEC representatives, as well as leading Malaysian cyber security companies and entrepreneurs. The agreement was signed at PGI’s Cyber Academy in Bristol.

The new academy will be known as the UK-APAC Centre of Security Excellence and will see PGI and MDEC collaborate, generate and formulate awareness and strategies to regularly promote bilateral cybersecurity research and investment opportunities. PGI will provide strategic advice on the design of the Academy’s cybersecurity courses, infrastructure and resources. PGI will also draw on its curriculum of UK Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) Certified Training courses, materials and expert trainers to conduct pilot programmes and oversee the development of local trainers for continuous learning at the Academy.

PGI was opened in September 2014 by the Rt. Hon Karen Bradley MP, now the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, to help tackle the global cyber skills shortage. Since then, PGI has trained over 1,000 cyber specialists from 21 countries, and developed tailored courses and programmes for government, police and armed forces clients, as well as senior management, mainstream IT specialists and entire workforces, from corporate to critical infrastructure clients. PGI’s immersive courses are powered by its training infrastructure, which offers students realistic scenarios on up to 3,600 virtual machines.

Welcoming the agreement, Yasmin said: “Seeing PGI’s workforce conversation training in action has been extremely interesting and insightful. Learning from their ability to convert IT staff into front line cyber security professionals will be pivotal to our cyber development. We are looking forward to harnessing PGI’s expertise to ensure that the UK-APAC Centre of Security Excellence can play a similar role in creating much-needed cyber security professionals in Malaysia and the broader Asia Pacific region.”

Barry Roche said: “Studies show that up to 2 million cyber security jobs will be unfilled by 2019 unless there is a step change in the numbers of new people entering the cyber security profession. PGI set up its Cyber Academy to play a leading role in identifying and training new entrants, reskilling those seeking to change careers into cyber, and continuing the professional development of the cyber security workforce. We are delighted to have demonstrated our expertise in these areas to MDEC and to offer our services in creating a new Academy for the Asia Pacific region.”

About Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation Sdn. Bhd. or MDEC (formerly known as Multimedia Development Corporation Sdn. Bhd.) is an agency under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia. MDEC has been entrusted to develop, coordinate, and promote Malaysia’s digital economy, information and communications technology (ICT) industry, and the adoption of digital technology amongst Malaysians.

Incorporated on 5th June 1996, MDEC was officially established to strategically advise the Malaysian Government on legislation, policies and standards for ICT and multimedia operations. Additionally, MDEC is also entrusted to oversee the development of the MSC Malaysia initiative, the platform to nurture the growth of local tech companies whilst attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs) and domestic direct investments (DDIs) from global multinational companies to invest and develop cutting-edge digital and creative solutions in Malaysia.

In 2011, MDEC’s mandate was broadened to drive Malaysia’s transition towards a developed digital economy by 2020. In 2012, Digital Malaysia was officially unveiled as the nation’s transformational programme to achieve this objective. Digital Malaysia is a national agenda that is fully developed with a sustainable digital economy built upon a vibrant domestic ICT industry, transformative adoption of digital solutions by government, businesses and citizens, as well as a robust enabling ecosystem.

For more information about MDEC, please visit www.mdec.my