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Inaugural Cyber Defence and Security exhibition to be held in Langkawi next year

LANGKAWI: Once every two years, this legendary island plays host to the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition (Lima), with each edition taking place in odd-numbered years.

Now, Alpine Integrated Technologies Sdn Bhd intends to make the island famous for another exhibition to be conducted biennially just like Lima, only on even-numbered years.

The inaugural Cyber Defence and Security Exhibition and Conference (CYDES 2020) is slated to take place in March next year at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre.

CYDES 2020 will be held to complement Lima and is expected to boost local economic growth as well as help realise the tourism sector's projected growth of RM9 billion.

In addition, it also showcases Langkawi as a business leisure or 'bleisure’ destination, thus achieving the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism product status.

A statement released by the organiser said the main event of the three-day CYDES 2020 was the Perdana Asean Cyber Talk (PACT).

Top country leaders and defence industry experts from Asean countries, including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia will also participate in the event.

"About 300 cyber technology exhibitors, both from the defence or security sectors will be invited to showcase their latest technology. These include 10 international pavilions from Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, USA, India, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Singapore and South Korea."

The statement said the exhibition and conference was important as, over the past few years, countries in the Asia Pacific region have been sensitive in raising awareness on cyber war threats or Cyber Warfare.

"Recently, a survey undertaken by a United Kingdom-based technology research firm, Comparitech ranked six countries in Southeast Asia as the best and worst in the cyber security landscape. The study covered 60 countries worldwide.

"Expenditure on cyber security is also projected to increase to US$5.45 billion (RM22.13 billion) by 2025. Malaysia is also facing such assaults, as both the public and private sectors in the country witness a rise in cyber-attacks and threats, which are becoming increasingly sophisticated over time."

CYDES 2020 is planning to work closely with the National Security Council, as well as several ministries and the police force.

Nearly 100 delegates from Asean are also invited to CYDES 2020, including defence ministers and armed forces and intelligence chiefs, according to the statement.

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