Malaysia: e-Cop.net gets a new boss

PETALING JAYA--See was formerly operations director for an e-solutions security provider firm, MPT Pacific Technology which is one of the largest systems integrators of firewall solutions in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Eddie Chau who is president and CEO of e-Cop.net Surveillance Pte Ltd, remains as chairman of its Malaysian office.

e-Cop.net's primary services is its 24x7 Internet Security Surveillance System (ISSS) which monitors companies' networks and systems. The service is complementary to automated security systems like firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS).

See outlined several initiatives which he intends to pursue. Several aims are to open new markets in Malaysia and spearhead strategic initiatives and product development, including the opening of an R&D center to facilitate the development of home-grown firewall applications and intrusion detection systems (IDS).

The R&D efforts are part of the company's contribution to the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). It will also speed up technology transfer efforts to Malaysia. e-Cop.net is a MSC-status company.

In an exclusive interview, See said managed security services (MSS) offer companies top-level security but without the extra cost.

But he said that the MSS model has not been well received in this part of the world, attributing some of the causes to the fact that companies are still wary to outsource some tasks, citing fears of losing control over their valuable information by doing so.

e-Cop.net's solution is to offer a service that sits between the client's router and firewall, therefore avoiding direct access to the particular network.

e-Cop's Internet security surveillance services (ISSS) also do not intercept payloads or packets of data but simply captures headers for analysis.

e-Cop's Malaysian Global Command Center (GCC) is located in Technology Park Malaysia and will be staffed by some 16 security analysts. The company plans to eventually increase its headcount to 30.

GCC's objective is to enable a company to compile a through forensic report of any security breaches or attacks, implement the suitable preventative measures and compile a log to enable the client to make a police report of any cyber crime.

The company has already signed up one prominent insurance company and and a bank to use its services but See declined to disclose their identities, citing the company's non-disclosure policy.

Touching on Internet Data Centers (IDCs) which are also noted for providing comprehensive IT security to clients, See said e-Cop planned to work with IDCs as a means of enabling IDCs to differentiate themselves in an increasingly saturated market.

He said that e-Cop could help IDCs to offer varying degrees of firewall protection to individual server racks or clients, depending on the needs of the client and the nature of the company's business.

See also explained that security issues have become more common in Malaysia partly due to the lack of qualified Internet security engineers here. He said many IT managers in the country have not been able to keep abreast with the rapid pace of change in the security space.

"Many of these managers have "legacy" skills which means they fall short trying to tackle hacking and security breaches in the respective companies head on," he added.

e-Cop.net is headquartered in Singapore with offices in Hong Kong, Malaysia with another opening soon in South Korea. e-cop.net Surveillance Sdn Bhd is a joint-venture between e-cop.net Pte Ltd and KLSE Main Board-listed Ancom Bhd.