At the conclusion of the ASEAN summit, Canada has announced that it is expanding its investment in advancing cybersecurity capacity building in the region. As part of this, the country is investing CA$226,000 (~RM679,746) to the BlackBerry Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (CCoE), in collaboration with the MCMC. This is “to upskill and train cyber-defenders from across ASEAN”.
This two-year investment will cover the training for 100 government and select civil society professionals. In its press release, BlackBerry also says the funding “will support specialised programming scheduled for 2026”. The additional funding is also said to build on a previous CA$3.9 million (~RM11.7 million), announced in 2024.
John Giamatteo, CEO of BlackBerry says, “the MCMC and BlackBerry CCoE is a vital hub for developing cyber talent both nationally and across the region, and we are proud to join with the Government of Canada and Malaysia to enhance the curriculum and increase access to cyber training. As we continue to innovate and enhance the facility, participants from Malaysia and ASEAN will also benefit from hands-on experience to better prepare them for the real-world of cybersecurity.”
For context, the BlackBerry CCoE is located within the MCMC Cyberjaya complex. The company also says that in addition to the ASEAN curriculum expansion, the facility itself is undergoing its own transformative upgrade. This sees additions such as high-performance labs, a cyber “war room”, a Security Operations Centre simulator, and interactive kiosks.
