The LGMS-Global Asia Cybersecurity Exchange (AsiaCyberX) group is determined to make Malaysia one of the major cybersecurity hubs internationally, with an aim of nurturing local talent while offering a whole new level of cybersecurity expertise to organisations worldwide.
LGMS is today one of the region’s leading end-to-end cybersecurity firms with renowned brands courting its expertise. The company has been accredited with multiple international certifications and recognition, including International Data Corporation (IDC) which recognised LGMS as one of the world’s leading IOT (internet-of-things) key penetration testing vendors in the 2019 IDC report.
AsiaCyberX, meanwhile, aims and has elevated Malaysia’s cybersecurity ecosystem to a whole new level by strengthening the capabilities of local talent and entrepreneurs. It also serves as a key catalyst for the cybersecurity ecosystem, both locally and regionally. Its community includes government agencies and bodies, global technology partners as well as academia.
When interviewed, group managing director Fong Choong-Fook (main pic) revealed that the LGMS-AsiaCyberX group is about to move to the next level through a partnership with TÜV Austria.
TÜV Austria is an international company with operations in more than 20 countries worldwide. TÜV is believed to currently employ more than 2,000 staff members and generates around €200m in annual revenue.
Under the partnership, TÜV Austria would be establishing a global Cybersecurity Testing and Certification Center of Excellence (CoE) in Asia with the LGMS-AsiaCyberX group.
“This CoE will establish Malaysia as the Asian hub for cybersecurity assessment, testing, and certification,” said Fong, adding that there would be significant positive impact for the Malaysian economy.
“There would be substantial investment into Malaysia, and we project annual increase in years ahead, too,” said Fong.
On local cybersecurity expertise, he estimated that up to at least a hundred new highly skilled cybersecurity jobs would be created when the partnership is formalised, up and running.
“Local professionals will be identified, trained, and hired to conduct world class cybersecurity testing and certification from Malaysia,” said Fong.
What’s more, there would also be technology and knowledge transfer as TÜV Austria research and development will be infused into the joint venture.
Over the next decade, Fong believes that expected cybersecurity services exported would be quite substantial.
Making Malaysia as the Leader in Cybersecurity Testing and Certification in Asia-Pacific
Fong believes that this partnership with TÜV Austria would attract more local talents going into the field of cybersecurity.
“At the same time, it would also stimulate the Industry 4.0 Cyber Security Testing & Certifications ecosystem, while encouraging the protection of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) as encouraged by the Malaysian Government,” he said.
Fong also expressed his appreciation to Malaysian minister of communications and multimedia Gobind Singh Deo (pic) and his team for the support and encouragement behind the scenes to make Malaysia a cybersecurity testing and certification hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Minister Gobind fully appreciates the importance of cybersecurity within today’s Digital Economy and is constantly encouraging us to realise our fullest potential while developing talent for Malaysia,” said Fong. “We are indeed most grateful to him for the support and insights he has given us to uplift the levels of cybersecurity in Malaysia for the Asia-Pacific region.”
Fong also expressed his appreciation to Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation vice president (global growth acceleration) Gopi Ganesalingam and colleague Ryan Chan for sharing industry support and expertise with MDEC’s Global Acceleration & Innovation Network (GAIN) programme.
GAIN is aimed at expediting the expansion of Malaysian and Malaysia-based technology companies that have the 
potential to become global players, ultimately building more Malaysian global tech icons.
“One of the key pillars of GAIN is market access, and we are indeed grateful to Minister Gobind, Gopi (pic), Ryan and their teams for expediting market access via key stakeholders, influencers, and business support ecosystem in various countries,” said Fong.
“Through GAIN, we will be bringing European GDPA and CC expertise into Malaysia and helping Malaysian to strengthen data protection using European benchmarks,” said Fong. “And that is a Big Win for Malaysia.”