When in cyber-trouble, you can call Cyber999
10 Jun 2009 (The Malaysian Insider)

KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 - CyberSecurity Malaysia, an agency under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, will launch the Cyber999 Service early next month to provide Internet users with emergency assistance in cyberspace.

Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Datuk Fadillah Yusof, said Cyber999 would be the help centre for cyber incident response service especially with the growing threats to cybersecurity.

"Cybersecurity crimes in Malaysia average about 300 cases a month and we need to address such issues which include viruses and intrusion," he said after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Kolej Yayasan Melaka and The International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants(EC-Council) Asia Pacific.

The event was witnessed by Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Haji Mohd Ali Rustam. Fadillah said Malaysia has about 700 information technology security professionals and there was a need to increase the number.

"By next year, we need at least 1,500 IT security professionals. The programme by Kolej Yayasan Melaka (KYM) and EC-Council will be able to create more IT security professionals," Fadillah said.

IT security professionals are very much needed in view of the dangers of potential threats and breaches surrounding the cyberworld, he said.

"Businesses cannot merely rely on the use of traditional aspects of security ie, firewalls intrusion detection systems and virus scans because they are no longer enough to protect an organisation from threats and breaches," he said.

He said the Hacker Halted Asia Pacific 2009 event which will be held from November 10 to 13 will expose the latest flaws in information security that affect the global community. EC-Council, a leading provider of IT security certification and KYM has joined forces to organise Hacker Halted Asia Pacific 2009.

Source: Bernama