In 2024, Asia Centre began delivering a series of digital security training to high-risk users in Malaysia. Supported by Google, these training sessions involved introducing online tools that will allow internet users to stay safe.
A total of three training sessions were conducted throughout 2024 and early 2025. A total of 132 participants attended and successfully completed the sessions.
On 5th September 2024, the first session of digital security training was delivered at the Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT) Kuala Lumpur campus. A total of 38 youth from TAR UMT attended the sessions which focused on enhancing digital resilience of the participants against online threats.
On 25 October 2024, a second session was delivered at the University of Reading Malaysia (UoRM) for 60 civil society representatives from NGOs from the Asian region. The training session was followed by an interactive discussion where different tools and digital hygiene practices that can safeguard personal or organisational data online were introduced. Participants were also given the opportunity to share their personal or organisational experiences as victims of digital security threats.
On 17th January 2025, Asia Centre delivered the third session at its Media Hub in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. 34 participants from various civil society organisations in Malaysia and Singapore attended the training to expand their knowledge on digital security. The training session also allowed participants from the two countries to network and share examples of digital threats they had experienced in their individual countries.
Post evaluation questionnaires were distributed to the participants of each training session for suggestions and feedback. The participants found the digital security training sessions to be very useful. They were able to gain a deeper understanding on the different types of digital threats and differentiate between the different types of attacks such as phishing, Ai deepfakes, and DDOSing (Disturbed Denial-of-Service).
They also have identified various precautions they can take to safeguard themselves such as implementing password managers and practicing good digital hygiene. However, most of the participants in the sessions emphasised the importance of building digital resilience among the general public against digital security threats that continue to evolve alongside the rapid advancement of technology.
This year (2025), Asia Centre plans to roll out Phase 2 of the Digital Security Training programme in partnership with Google. If you are interested in collaborating with the Centre on this training, please send an expression of interest here or send an email to media@asiacentre.my.