CYBER security, a preventive technique to protect the integrity of networks, programmes and data against criminals or unauthorised use of electronic data, is a crucial component in technology development and must be embedded in the initial stage of such development.

Cyber Security Malaysia chief executive officer Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab said cyber security must be given priority in the initial development stage of programmes and networks. It must not be included as an afterthought.

“Most technology developers are not cyber security experts and leave out the aspect of cyber security until after the technology has been developed. This will make the technology vulnerable to threats.

“Top level management or board members of a company must make cyber security an important concern instead of leaving it to the IT department of the company,” he told a press conference after delivering his keynote address at the inaugural ‘Industry 4.0 and Digitalisation Conference’ in Kuala Lumpur today.

He stressed the importance of training and re-training employees in the aspect of cyber security to ensure that they were aware of its issues and understood how cyber attacks find its way into the company’s electronic data.

According to Amirudin, qualification in IT or Computer Science was not enough to make an employee an expert in the field as it was a niche sector that required additional training.

“We are targeting to have 10,000 cyber security experts in the country by 2020, but as of now, there are only 6,500 of them,” he said.

“While the IoT could mean the ‘Internet of Things’, without cyber security measures in place, it can also mean the ‘Internet of Threats’,” he added.

The two-day conference beginning today is organised by Talent Development (M) Sdn Bhd and Malaysian Institute of Management. It focuses on the urgency with which Malaysia needs to respond to the fourth industrial revolution that saw more jobs moved into automation. – Bernama, September 4, 2017.