PGI to set up UK-APAC Centre of Security Excellence in Malaysia

• The UK-APAC Centre of Security Excellence will offer accredited GCHQ training courses
• This is the first cybersecurity academy within the Asia Pacific region

MALAYSIAN Digital Economic Corporation (MDEC) CEO Yasmin Mahmood and Protection Group International (PGI) CEO Barry Roche have signed an agreement to collaborate to strengthen and develop cybersecurity capacity in Malaysia as well as expansion to the Asia Pacific region.

They will also work together to develop a cybersecurity academy in Malaysia.

The formation of the new academy, known as the UK-APAC Centre of Security Excellence, was facilitated via the Department for International Trade’s Malaysian office and is the first cybersecurity academy within the Asia Pacific region.

The academy will see PGI and MDEC collaborate, generate and formulate awareness and strategies to regularly promote bilateral cybersecurity research and investment opportunities.

PGI will provide expert and strategic advisory in the design of the academy’s cybersecurity course programmes, infrastructure and resources; and draw on its curriculum of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) Certified Training courses, training materials and expert trainers to conduct pilot programmes and oversee the development of local trainers to be experts for continuous learning programmes at the academy.

The agreement was signed at PGI’s Cyber Academy in Bristol. PGI was opened in September 2014 by Karen Bradley MP, now the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to help tackle the global cyber skills shortage.

Since then, PGI has trained over 1,000 cyber specialists from 21 countries, and developed tailored courses and programmes for government, police and armed forces clients as well as senior management, mainstream IT specialists and entire workforces from corporate to critical infrastructure clients.

PGI’s immersive courses are powered by its training infrastructure offering students realistic scenarios on up to 3,600 virtual machines.

Welcoming the agreement, Yasmin said: “Seeing PGI’s workforce conversation training in action has been extremely interesting and insightful. PGI has the expertise to ensure that the UK-APAC Centre of Security Excellence can play a similar role in creating much-needed cyber security professionals in Malaysia and the broader Asia Pacific region. Learning from their ability to convert IT staff into front line cyber security professionals will be pivotal to our cyber development.”

The UK-APAC Centre of Security Excellence will offer accredited GCHQ training courses, which will benefit UK cybersecurity companies investing in Malaysia.

This provides assurance that cyber security staff are trained and can operate at the standard that UK companies are accustomed to.

“Partnerships with PGI will help to sustain the resources required to address the demand for more cybersecurity professionals in Malaysia. We look forward to growing UK-Malaysia ties to close the cyber skills gap across the region,” Yasmin added.

“Studies show that up to two million cyber security jobs will be unfilled by 2019 unless there is a step change in the numbers of new people entering the cyber security profession.

“PGI set up its Cyber Academy to play a leading role in identifying and training new entrants, reskilling those seeking to change careers into cyber, and continuing the professional development of the cyber security workforce. We are delighted to have demonstrated our expertise in these areas to MDEC and to offer our services in creating a new academy for the Asia Pacific region,” said Roche.
 
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