PPKS, CREST ink MoU on Cyber Security programme

KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Cyber Security Testers for Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya (PPKS) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the UK-based Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers (CREST) to set up a Malaysian chapter and establish an internationally-recognised certification and accreditation programme for the domestic cyber security industry.

The PPKS/CREST Malaysian chapter Chairman, Mohammed Fadzil Haron, said the parties would be collaborating to establish a framework for the programme which would be implemented by banks.

“There are about 43 cyber security service providers in Malaysia, and we are targeting between five and ten to be CREST-certified by next year,” he told reporters after the signing ceremony here yesterday, which was supported by the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB). CREST President, Ian Glover and Mohammed Fadzil signed the MOU. Also present were Bank Negara Malaysia's Assistant Governor, Donald Joshua Jaganathan, and AICB chief executive, Prasad Padmanaban.

Glover said there were about 2,000 individuals who were qualified within the CREST community, as this was the hardest set of certification examination in the world where they had to demonstrate that they could provide quality service in this area.

“CREST Malaysia will provide a platform for collaboration among industry players, regulators, government and cyber security service providers.

“The MOU demonstrated Malaysia's commitment to being a major international contributor in the fight against cyber crime,” he said.

Glover said service providers should strengthen and increase the standard and rigorousness of penetration testing (authorised simulated attack on a computer system that looks for security weaknesses), in the face of escalating intensity of cyber attacks around the globe.

Penetration testing has been widely accepted as one of the key elements in the information technology security framework to assess the effectiveness of current defence mechanisms, he said.

CREST is an international nonprofit accreditation body which focuses on technical information security industry and provides internationally-recognised accreditation for organisations and individuals providing penetration testing, cyber incident response and threat intelligence services.

PPKS is a professional society established to drive the level of professionalism within cyber security industry in Malaysia.