00:00In the Malaysian context, I feel that we have to own the technology.
00:05We have to be able to continuously develop that technology.
00:09And we have to have control over where it resides.
00:15That's the warning from Sapura Holdings Sindiran Berhad Group CEO, Sharul Shamsuddin, who says
00:20Malaysia can no longer afford to leave critical cybersecurity systems in foreign hands.
00:25Sovereignty means under any circumstances you can function because you have control over all your faculties.
00:33For example, if there's an embargo from certain countries on parts of equipment or software
00:41that you own and it says no more selling to Malaysia, we might end up not able to have
00:49sovereignty over that data or control over that data or defend that data itself.
00:53He says digital sovereignty is becoming more urgent as cyber threats grow more complex
00:58and conflict becomes increasingly shaped by technology from cyber operations to drones and
01:04artificial intelligence driven systems.
01:06At the Defense Services Asia and National Security Asia 2026 exhibition, Sapura Cybersecurity
01:12and Intelligence Arm is showcasing VDARC, a cyber intelligence platform that monitors threat
01:19activity and provides verified actionable intelligence.
01:23It is also showcasing VATAC, a cyber attack emulation capability designed to simulate real-world
01:29breaches, identify weak points, and help organizations strengthen their defenses before an actual attack
01:35happens.
01:35VATAC is sits on an AI platform which will, on top of giving a score of likelihood of a breach,
01:49will also identify in a precise manner exactly where the attack is going to be. And the subsequent actions
02:00to be taken in order to defend against such an initiative by the threat actors.
02:09The exhibition also features other local names such as K-Tech Asia and Kudrat Teknik as Malaysia
02:14pushes to grow more homegrown capabilities across the defense and security space.
02:20This year's edition brought together more than 1,400 companies from over 60 countries, 500 high-level
02:26delegations, and 50,000 trade visitors, underscoring the scale of one of the region's biggest defense
02:31and homeland security platforms.
02:33For Sharil, the bigger takeaway from the exhibition is that Malaysia's defense and security ambitions
02:38will depend not just on what it can buy, but on what it can build, control, and sustain itself.
02:44We are not short of talent. It's whether we can give the challenge to the talent, and exactly
02:54what I think at Sopura, as a company, we are always providing that challenge for young and
03:01fresh minds to prove themselves, and it's been very successful for us.
03:08Dynashar Jareza, FMT.
Comments