Mastercardis partnering Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to build a Cyber Innovation Hub that will be used to offer skills training, and courses on cybersecurity-related fields to students and mid-career professionals.
Both parties will also collaborate on cybersecurity-related research and proof of concept projects to identify new cybersecurity threats, develop solutions and drive the implementation of privacy-enhancing technologies in financial services. Additionally, the partnership aims to provide opportunities for joint research and development projects in specific areas of cyber security and analytics to drive innovation.
Minister of Higher Education of Malaysia, Dato Seri Mohamad Khaled Nordin, said, “This partnership between UTM and Mastercard will be a major step forward in helping to grow the number of cybersecurity experts in Malaysia.”
According to CyberSecurity Malaysia, the country reported 20,000 cybercrimes in 2021, up from 17,000 cases in 2020, amounting to RM560 million (USD$126 million) in losses. The skills training and courses – conducted at the UTM-Mastercard Cyber Innovation Hub located at the university – will offer a unique combination of practical cybersecurity training and knowledge, as well as industry insights. A joint Mastercard-UTM cybersecurity certificate will be issued upon completion. A special training program will be offered first to academics, thereby creating a pool of educators in cybersecurity, will be announced soon.
