The Ministry of Education (MoE) in collaboration with Cybersecurity Malaysia plans to introduce a National Cyber Security Awareness Module at 300 schools nationwide.
The Director of the MoE Education Technology Resources Division stated that the module will be prepared for both primary and secondary schools.
There will be Module 1 for Standard 1 to 3, Module 2 for Standard 4 to 6, Module 3 for Form 1 to 3 and Module 4 for Form 4 and 5.
The module will cover several topics such as online ethics, balanced internet usage time, cyberbullying, social media and digital citizenship, the Director stated during a panel discussion on ‘Fostering Digital Proficiency in the 21st Century’.
The forum was held in conjunction with the celebration of Safer Internet Day 2020 – Malaysian Edition, led by CyberSecurity Malaysia with the support of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia.
The forum aimed, among others, to raise awareness of cybersecurity threats and to introduce the concept of digital proficiency to educate internet users to have a positive mindset and be mindful of digital ethics.
Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation’s head of Cybersecurity Cluster, who was also the panellist at the forum, said to become digitally proficient, netizens must be aware of the risks of using the internet such as when sharing their personal information.
He noted that every user should be aware of the risks of disclosing personal information such as pictures of family members. All these data have been collected by big data analytics, agreeing that cybersecurity laws should also be tightened.
Malaysia – the potential cybersecurity hub of ASEAN
Austria’s Ambassador to Malaysia stated that Malaysia has the potential to be a cybersecurity hub within the Asia-Pacific region.
He noted that Malaysia’s strategic geographical location within the Asia-Pacific region, coupled with the country’s cybersecurity professionals and talent are positive traits which bode well for the country.
The Ambassador stated that like Malaysia, Austria also places great emphasis on the digital economy and has since implemented Digital Roadmap Austria, noting the digitisation offers key technologies for the development of economic and social innovations.
The Ambassador was speaking at the launch of TÜV AUSTRIA Cybersecurity Lab Sdn Bhd, an Austrian-Malaysian joint-venture between TÜV TRUST IT and LGMS of Malaysia.
Under the partnership, the Lab will house a global Cybersecurity Testing and Certification Center of Excellence (CoE) to serve both domestic and international markets.
It will go a long way in solidifying Malaysia as Asia’s foremost authority in cybersecurity assessment, testing, and certification, the Group Managing Director of LGMS stated.
The joint venture will also stimulate the Industry 4.0 Cyber Security Testing & Certifications ecosystem while driving the protection of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).
Moreover, under this partnership, the two parties will be exchanging knowledge, expertise and research and development (R&D) in this growing field of cybersecurity, thus creating a ‘win-win’ situation for all concerned.