BlackBerry Limited officially opened a world-class Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence (CCoE) in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday (Mar 26, 2024) at a ceremony officiated by Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Mary Ng, and BlackBerry CEO, John Giamatteo.
The new CCoE will deliver exceptional cybersecurity training and cyber threat intelligence to help Malaysia and partners in the region better prevent, deter, and respond to cyber threats facing governments and organizations in the Indo-Pacific region.
The company also announced its new BlackBerry Cybersecurity Curriculum is now available for the first time through the new facility, offering a wide range of globally recognised course offerings and certifications to help grow a skilled cybersecurity workforce and ecosystem in Malaysia and the region.
These programmes are designed to help the nation address a reported shortfall of some 12,000 cybersecurity professionals and advance career opportunities for men and women in the region.
The opening of the CCoE and the BlackBerry Cybersecurity Curriculum launch marks another significant milestone in the landmark deal announced between the Malaysian Government and BlackBerry in November 2023.
Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Anwar at the opening of the centre said, “Being more than a facility to help train and upskill our national cyber workforce, the Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence has the potential to be an international destination to address emerging cyber threats.”
“We can bring together Malaysian and Canadian universities, research institutions and skilled practitioners to share knowledge, and threat intelligence and jointly develop methods and strategies to strengthen national and regional cyber-resilience,’ he added.
The new centre will provide Malaysians and others in the region with increased opportunities for professional networking, knowledge-sharing and common skills training, covering everything from cyber fundamentals to leadership and technical areas.
The CCoE curriculum offers training courses on BlackBerry cybersecurity products and services to upskill in areas like AI and Machine Learning, as well as highly specialised courses delivered by the SANS Institute, Canada’s Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst and other internationally recognised certification partners.
It also offers select opportunities for scholarships for women cybersecurity professionals, with further plans to augment existing university curricula with CCoE student education programmes.
“In this digital age, the global need for innovative cyber security solutions continues to grow. I’m pleased that Canada’s expertise in this area is helping to create a safer cyberspace in Malaysia,” said the Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development.
“The announcement by BlackBerry is a clear example of how Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy is supporting efforts to reduce and address security threats in the region,” she said.
BlackBerry CEO, John Giamatteo concluded, “Building resilience to cyber-attacks requires a whole-of-society effort. The new Cybersecurity Center of Excellence stands as a testament to how nations and technology leaders can work together to address the dual challenge of cybercrime and skills shortages.”
“We thank the Governments of Malaysia and Canada, along with our industry partners, for joining us today, as we open this world-class facility and launch the BlackBerry Cybersecurity Curriculum to support Malaysia’s goal to train a highly skilled national cybersecurity workforce to a global standard,” he concluded.
