Amirudin plans to strengthen CSM
The Star (4 june 2013)

BIG PLANS: Amirudin wants to shake up the CSM culture in order for it to be the premier Cybersecurity reference point. BIG PLANS: Amirudin wants to shake up the CSM culture in order for it to be the premier Cybersecurity reference point.

PETALING JAYA: Newly appointed CyberSecurity Malaysia chief executive officer, Dr Amirudin Abd Wahab, hopes to shake up the country's cybersecurity agency in order for it to be the point of reference when it comes Internet security matters.

Already, he is changing the work culture by casually meeting his staff members and talking to them to get them to tell him their ideas.

"They are not used to having the boss mingle and talk with them but I think this can bring CSM to greater heights. They'll soon get used to it," Amirudin quipped.

Amirudin, who took over from Lt Kol (Rtd) Prof Datuk Husin Jazri in January, said the national cybersecurity agency could not go about its ambitious quest alone and is keen in striking partnerships with various cybersecurity agencies to help strengthen its knowledge in the field.

But, he needs to keep an orderly home first.

After spending 100 days studying the agency and its role, he noticed that CSM does not lack in talent but staff members could do with expanding their horizons instead of fully focusing on a specific area of cybersecurity.

"Their technical skills are superb but I've also noticed that they work in silos - this limits their potential, and there is a lot of untapped potential in CSM. I just need to encourage them to unleash it and also want them to further their studies in the field," he said.

Amirudin said he hopes to inspire his staff members to do that and plans to continue it for as long as he is CEO.

He added that he will continue with Husin's vision of making CSM a globally recognised expert in cybersecurity and is making plans to achieve that goal.

Among the steps is to play a more active role when working together with agencies like the National Security Council (MKN), the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) and the police force to strengthen Malaysia's laws and defenses when fighting cybercriminals.

"The AGC is the law expert but we can use our knowledge and technical skills to help them come up with stronger cyberlaws.

"We can also help the police with these skills. They may not have the right technical skills to nab cybercriminals yet and this is an area we can look deeper into," he said.

CSM continues to work closely with MKN to keep Malaysia's critical infrastructure safe from being brought down by cyberattacks.

Amirudin said he is open to working with anyone, including independent cybersecurity experts.

"I'm extending my hand to work with the every player in the cybersecurity community because this is a subject of national interest. I'm aware that we might not share the same opinion sometimes but I'm sure there are things we can agree and collaborate on," he said.