Service Sector Urged To Meet International Security Standards

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 (Bernama) -- The government has urged the service sector to meet international security standards to boost buyer confidence in local offerings overseas, the Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Fadillah Yusof said Thursday.

Fadillah said information security for one, was becoming mandatory in the services sector such as banking and finance, energy, health and telecommunications.

"Users need to have confidence in the effectiveness of the implemented security of local products," Fadillah said in his opening address at the Information Security Standards Seminar here today.

There are currently 820 products certified worldwide under the Common Criteria for the security evaluation of products and systems and 21 organisations in Malaysia are Information Security Management System (ISMS), certified.

According to Fadillah, under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), firms that met international standards, received rebates up to 50 percent upon completing the certifying process.

He said it was also important to note that Malaysia, through CyberSecurity Malaysia's efforts, had been recognised as a consuming participant in 2007."This means we agree to accept the security testing results produced by other participants of the Commmon Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA).

"Malaysian products will also be recognised globally and contribute to a percentage of the export market and the economic growth of the country," Fadillah added.

-- BERNAMA