LAST month, Malaysia made further strides in establishing the MCMC and BlackBerry Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence (CCoE) as a regional hub for world-class cyber training with the completion of its Women in Cyber Leadership Programme.
The five-day course brought together women professionals from across the region, and was delivered in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada and Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Taking place on January 26‒30, the inaugural programme provided fully-funded opportunities to over 25 women professionals who were competitively selected from across ASEAN member countries, including the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Participants from a diverse range of industries enhanced capabilities in cyber risk, governance, and leadership, alongside practical and soft skills to navigate and overcome traditional workplace barriers.
“BlackBerry is proud to support initiatives that empower women in cybersecurity to overcome mid-career obstacles by building confidence and opening pathways to leadership,” said MCMC and Blackberry CCoE senior manager of training Jaclyn Sim.
“This unique public-private-academia initiative underscores the MCMC and BlackBerry CCoE’s commitment to grow a highly skilled and diverse cyber workforce, while supporting Malaysia as a leading regional hub of excellence for cybersecurity capability development across ASEAN.”
First announced during the 47th ASEAN Summit in Oct 2025, the Women in Cyber Leadership Programme stems from a strategic co-funding initiative under the Government of Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy, designed to boost cybersecurity capacity in the region.
Programme partners and industry experts also shared their perspectives on the importance of advancing women’s leadership and strengthening cyber resilience in ASEAN.
“Programmes like this are important because the cybersecurity ecosystem must be more diverse to tackle the range of complex issues industries face in this digital age,” said Trish Dyl, Director of Skills Development and International Programmes at the Catalyst.
“Women are underrepresented at the leadership table, so working together across borders and industry in this way is important to turn the dial forward, while supporting cyber-resilience and capacity building for Malaysia and ASEAN.”
Meanwhile, digital strategy and future tech investment consultant Raymond Siva underscored the importance that organisations in ASEAN embed cybersecurity as a fundamental discipline, integrated into strategic and operational decision-making, rather than approached as a periodic compliance requirement.
This is as cyber risks continue to emerge from tensions playing out across borders, he opined.
“Strengthening digital literacy across our workforce, diversifying our digital supply chains, and advancing regional collaboration will be essential to ensuring that ASEAN’s digital economy grows in a way that is not only innovative and competitive, but also resilient, secure, and inclusive,” he added. ‒ Feb 27, 2026
