F-Secure and MDeC gives a boost to the future of IT Security in Malaysia

F-Secure, the world’s leading online security privacy company, recently concluded the IT Security Competition in partnership with Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) and various Malaysian public and private universities.

This annual event is now in its third year, and brings together multiple teams of students from across Malaysia’s public and private universities with an aim to transfer and empower high technology skills to the local labour force through education.

“Students are our future and these bright young minds truly offer us the opportunity to give constructively back to society at large. We at F-Secure have always maintained that keeping youth engaged and unlocking paths to their future is not only best for them, but beneficial for the nation,” said F-Secure Malaysia’s general manager and director Ingvar Froiland.

“Today, cybersecurity is one of the topmost concerns for many corporates both large and small. By offering these universities a chance to give their students hands-on experience in such a challenge, gives them an edge in dealing with technical puzzles that will test their problem-solving skills. The challenges revolve around IT security and malware, and are faced by more than 60 teams across the nation,” said Froiland.

This year, more than 25 universities participated in The Security challenge. Over the course of the event, F-Secure visited each university in order to assess which teams would advance to the final round. In all, ten teams from eight universities made it to the final event.

F-Secure Malaysia’s general manager and director Ingvar Froiland (centre left) with the winning team from Multimedia University Malaysia.

“MDeC is pleased to be partnering with F-Secure for the IT Security Competition. As technology evolves rapidly in this sector, there is always a race to secure talent with industry relevant knowledge and skills,” said Tan Eng Hoo, Senior Manager, Talent Division, MDeC.

“The IT Security Competition epitomizes the importance of strategic industry-academic partnerships and will go a long way to help upskill students and IT professionals in the ever-important field of cyberspace security. As a nation, cybersecurity is of paramount importance to economic and national interests,” he said.

Lessons from F-Secure, winner of the Best Protection Award from the AV-TEST Institute
At the finals of the IT Security Competition, all 10 teams were provided with laptops and were required to complete a multi-stage puzzle through analysing and reversing engineering code to find clues and answers to the next stage.

The final challenge featured a jeopardy-like course comprising different categories and levels that tested the participants’ hands-on skills and knowledge. Judges for the finals were Lt. Col. Mustaffa Bin Ahmad (Retired), Vice President, Outreach and Capacity Building Division, as well as Jose Cequena, Senior Manager, Anti Malware Unit. After the final competition, team Galour from MMU with students Loh Jia Ching, Ling Cong Xiang and

Wendy Goh Wen Yit walked away with Mac Book Pro worth RM 5,000 for each member, being the champion for this year. Their lecturer, Ooi Shih Yin was equally overwhelmed as they were champions for the second time since 2013.

Following them in first and second runner up spots respectively were the teams Anonymous from TARUC and BigMacAlaC from APU, bringing home an Ipad Air and Pebble Smart Watch respectively.

All winners were also provided with a one-year subscription to SAFE Internet Security Suite and FREEDOME, F-Secure’s internationally acclaimed products.

F-Secure also recently won the Best Protection Award from the AV-TEST Institute, becoming the only vendor in the history of the prestigious award to win the honor four years in a row. The technologyin F-Secure Client Security that won Best Protection 2014 after a year of impressive performance is also implemented in Server Security to provide top-notch protection in all F-Secure solutions.

These teams are the fruits of the efforts of the MDeC-F-Secure “Train-the-Trainer programme” that has been running for the past five years. The programme is part F-Secure and MDeC’s initiative to impart knowledge, especially in the area of malware analysis and reverse-code engineering to university faculty to help them implement IT Security into their curriculum for the students.

“Cyber threats are fast evolving and we must as a nation always be a step ahead of such threats. That is why we are greatly appreciative to F-Secure for imparting the latest information on cyber security while also providing global ‘best practices’, training and awareness during the course of the competition,” concluded Tan.

“Thanks to our ever-growing presence in Malaysia, we’re able to increase focus on moulding the future talents of the country in the space of security. I assure you, it will be natural through events such as this, held by F-Secure and in collaboration with MDeC that the country produces future experts in the field of security and privacy,” concluded Froiland.

About F-Secure
F-Secure is an online security and privacy company from Finland. They offer millions of people around the globe the power to surf invisibly and store and share stuff, safe from online threats. They provide the best protection in the world, and are here to fight for digital freedom.

About MDeC
The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) is a government-owned institution responsible for the management of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC Malaysia) in Malaysia as a technology industry and commerce zone. It is charged with oversight of multiple IT-related initiatives within the country.