Nexagate envisions better cybersecurity for SMEs, general public

By Azlee Nor Mahmud

SHAH ALAM, May 13  -- Malaysian cybersecurity firm Nexagate Sdn Bhd aims to catalyse its 'Better Cybersecurity for Everyone' vision to democratise and demystify cybersecurity.

Managing director Khairil Effendy Ahmad Dhman Huri said cybersecurity solutions tended to be complicated and require expertise and the company aimed to help create affordable and simple solutions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the general public.

"This means that cybersecurity should be democratised beyond large enterprises, government sector or government-linked companies, which can afford the solutions. 

"Since the start of COVID-19, there is an increase in cyber threats and fraud cases faced by the public and organisations. Nexagate looks at this as an opportunity to serve and contribute to the increasing awareness on the importance of cybersecurity.

“Due to the increase in Internet consumption, scammers have shifted their modus operandi from physical method to online. 

"The level of awareness currently is low, whereby processes and best practices are not in place, like password sharing policy or ensuring password strength," he told Bernama today.

During the Movement Control Order (MCO) last year, Khairil Effendy said Nexagate launched several cybersecurity awareness campaigns for organisations, businesses and the public. 

"The SMEs were highly affected, which required instant protection in two areas -- endpoint and connection. Therefore, Nexagate contributed by offering free antivirus licences and also secure virtual private network solution for up to six months, on top of free technical/business continuity consultations, health checks and webinars. 

"This will minimise the potential data leakage which can have a huge impact on a company’s financials (bottom line) and also the branding of an organisation," he said.

Khairil Effendy said these offerings were designed so that SMEs can focus on what matters most for them, that is, to survive and continue with their business operations.

To ensure that the awareness campaigns have a wider reach, he said Nexagate had collaborated with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to conduct weekly awareness sessions targeting SMEs and the public within their ecosystem. 

Since then, he said the company had also partnered with Cybersecurity Malaysia to offer online cybersecurity courses to increase awareness in government agencies.

Through its 'Better Cybersecurity for Everyone' vision, Nexagate developed Nexa Security Intel (NSI), a solution that aims to simplify cybersecurity to enable SMEs to establish the best security processes in place, with instant protection and visibility of potential vulnerabilities within their network.

Khairil Effendy said the company had also forged a partnership with Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) which believed in Nexagate’s vision and invested in the NSI development.

NSI is a cybersecurity dashboard that simplifies cybersecurity for organisations and SMEs, comprising three modules: compliance module to help establish cybersecurity policy and process in place; threat module to identify vulnerability in the network - avoid exploitation by hackers by securing loopholes; and protection module which provides instant protection in the form of antivirus and website monitoring.

"The support from MTDC extends beyond financial, as it also exposed Nexagate to other companies within the MTDC ecosystem in ensuring that they have healthy cybersecurity posture. 

“Having engaged with these companies, the NSI team has started looking into features to support the Internet of things (IoT) and cloud applications," he added.

Following MTDC’s investment, Khairil Effendy said the NSI had evolved up to version 3.5, and had been deployed to 30 clients in Indonesia and Malaysia since its soft-launch in the second quarter of 2020.

"Consultancy activities that rely highly on face-to-face interactions are now being delivered via the NSI alongside virtual communication tools and this has created opportunities to expand its service offerings to countries like Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Laos," he said.

Khairil Effendy said Nexagate also aimed to continue expanding into other ASEAN countries like Thailand and Vietnam and continue to position Malaysia as a benchmark in having leading cybersecurity implementation.

-- BERNAMA