Brunei Darussalam needs an organically-grown talent pool of people in cybersecurity. The country, the industry and the critical information infrastructure need more people well-versed and well-trained in cybersecurity to drive digital transformation, said Information Technology Protective Security Services (ITPSS) Sdn Bhd’s Deputy Chief Information Security Officer Mohamad Azad Zaki bin Haji Mohd Tahir during the prize presentation for the eighth Cyber Battle competition yesterday.
The sovereign status of any nation, which Brunei is not exempt from, extends well beyond the physical borders. This poses many challenges in terms of technical capacities and expertise as well as governance and legislative frameworks needed to ensure a safe, secure and trustworthy cyberspace.
As cybersecurity transcends borders, the need for a more practical and continuous collaboration with other countries demands more commitments from various stakeholders.
“I believe that industry and community players play a significant role in this endeavour. That is why ITPSS had been supportive with the setting up of a full-pledged Cybersecurity Association, namely, Brunei Cyber Security Association (BCSA). Through this association, it is hoped that budding cybersecurity communities in schools and other educational institutions can grow and flourish to ensure a steady supply of work-ready future cybersecurity workforce and professionals,” said Mohamad Azad Zaki.
“ITPSS is more than happy to play a supporting role through its cyber skills and growth initiative. Cyber Battle: Capture The Flag is one of the regular programme under this initiative and it is our pledge to continuously make it better and more inclusive in the future. Our current effort also reflects on the progress and development in the region as far as skills development in cybersecurity is concerned and is currently taking place in the form of ASEAN-Japan Cybersecurity Capacity Building Centre (AJCCBC) in Bangkok, Thailand and ASEAN Singapore Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence (ASCCE).
“It is hoped that a sustainable local cybersecurity ecosystem can be developed through a more collaborative exercise between industry and community players in Brunei. Not only would this contribute to a safer and trusted cyberspace, it would also contribute to the economic growth of the country and the prosperity of its people,” he added.
Team Ok I Try was the champion of the eighth Cyber Battle competition walking away with a cash prize of BND3,500. It also won two bonus prizes of BND300 each for completing packet analysis and digital forensics categories. Team Ok I Try comprised Mohammad Izdihar Sulaiman, Siti Noora’zam binti Haji Abdul Kadir and Chan Sin Yee @ Sydney.
The second place went to Team 3 Fishies winning BND2,500 while in third place was Team Onion bringing home BND1,500.
Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy (Economy) Dato Seri Paduka Haji Khairuddin bin Haji Abdul Hamid presented prizes to the winners in his capacity as a member of the Board of Directors of ITPSS.
Running concurrently with the competition was Talks at Cyber Battle featuring a series of presentations by security experts aimed at inspiring local youth to consider cybersecurity as a career choice.
Among the presenters was SANS Institute Technical Director for Asia Pacific Delaney Ng presenting ‘Ransomware for Incident Responders’. Other presentations included ‘Other Defence Against Black Hats’, ‘Islamic Views on Digital/Cyber Security’, ‘Making My Own JARVIS’ and ‘How To Get Started in Pentesting’. – James Kon