Malaysia Must Develop Cybersecurity Talent As AI Adoption Grows -- Fortinet Malaysia
By Engku Shariful Azni Engku Ab Latif
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysia needs to continue developing cybersecurity talents, while helping existing teams build the skills required to work effectively with artificial intelligence (AI), automation and increasingly complex digital environments, according to Fortinet Malaysia.
Its country manager, Kevin Wong said cybersecurity will be crucial to ensuring the safe and confident adoption of AI as it becomes more widely used across governments, businesses and public services.
He said AI is also reshaping cyber risks, as criminals use it to make scams more convincing, automate attacks, and target organisations at greater speed and scale.
At the same time, the growing integration of information technology (IT), cloud systems and operational technology is increasing the potential impact of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and essential services.
"Cybersecurity must therefore keep pace with Malaysia’s digital ambitions.
"This means protecting critical infrastructure, securing AI systems and the data they rely on, strengthening the fight against digital crime, and building the skills needed to respond to emerging threats," he told Bernama in an email interview.
Wong said one of the biggest challenges businesses have to deal with is the growing complexity of security environments, with many organisations relying on multiple disconnected tools that create visibility gaps, slow response times and place additional pressure on already stretched security teams.
Therefore, he said organisations need a clear and continuous view of their users, devices, applications, data and potential vulnerabilities, which enables security teams to identify suspicious activity earlier, prioritise the risks and contain threats before they cause significant disruption.
Looking ahead, Wong said identity security will remain a major concern, extending targets beyond employees and customers to applications, devices, machine identities and AI agents.
"Malaysian organisations will need stronger visibility, identity governance and more integrated security environments.
"Those that can secure their use of AI while using AI to strengthen defence will be better positioned to innovate safely and remain resilient," he said.
-- BERNAMA