KUALA LUMPUR – Budget 2025’s RM10 million allocation to strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity will enable the National Cyber Security Agency’s (NACSA) ability to improve its services, its CEO Megat Zuhairy Megat Tajuddin said.
With the RM10 million, NASCA is to hire 100 more personnel to support enforcement of the Cyber Security Act 202 which came into force recently.
Megat Zuhairy said the agency will be deploying more staff to its 24-hour National Cyber Coordination & Command Centre (NC4) to manage enforcement and develop policies and strategies to combat cybersecurity issues.
“NACSA has always needed the necessary resources to effectively implement our provisions following the enactment of the Cyber Security Act, and we fully welcome the allocation given by the federal government,” he told Scoop in a response to the budget tabled in Parliament yesterday.
“The RM10 million allocation will fund 100 additional personnel, including experts in cybersecurity, legal affairs, policy and international relations, and law enforcement. This will significantly enhance NACSA’s ability to monitor and coordinate crucial measures to strengthen our nation’s cyber resilience.
“The additional staff will also be stationed at our NC4 to manage enforcement, develop policies and strategies, and support international collaboration efforts,” he said.
Megat Zuhairy also said NACSA will collaborate with Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) to enhance the Malaysian Cryptography Centre.
“We will be forming a committee, and we will coordinate the cyber awareness programme involving various agencies, associations, academic institutions, and private sectors to accelerate greater cyber awareness. This initiative aims to prepare Malaysia for the migration of its cryptographic systems to Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC).
“Cybersecurity is one of the most critical aspects of national sovereignty. Recognising this, the Cyber Security Act 2024 was implemented to improve the nation’s cybersecurity and ensure that threats to the country’s critical information infrastructure are addressed proactively.”
Other cybersecurity areas addressed in the budget include enchanting the role of the National Fraud Response Centre (NFRC) with an allocation of RM20 million. This will fund the establishment of a National Fraud Portal aimed at combating online fraud and enabling the NFRC to detect suspicious transactions automatically.
Artificial intelligence-related education would be expanded to all research universities, with an allocation of RM50 million – an increase of RM20 million compared to the previous budget..
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