UNIVERSITY SAINS MALAYSIA EMERGED AS WINNER OF THE 2014 F-SECURE INTER-VARSITY IT SECURITY COMPETITION

~ The finale was at fever pitch as three teams went head-to-head for the ultimate victory ~

Cyberjaya, 28 April 2014 – With 255 points ahead, team N2L from University Sains Malaysia (USM) was crowned as the champion for 2014 F-Secure Inter-Varsity IT Security Competition! The competition, initiated by F-Secure and MDeC (Multimedia Development Corporation), was aimed at nurturing local talents and encouraging more Malaysian undergraduates to venture into the field of IT security through education.

After a two-hour intense battle among the two other teams, teams N2L from University Sains Malaysia emerged as the champion for the 2014 F-Secure Inter-Varsity IT Security Competition!

The finalists’ details were as below:

Team N2L University Sains Malaysia	Team Xposure Multimedia Malacca University	Team The Bounty Hunter University Sains Malaysia
Lim Yen Sheng	Tan Chee Hong	Soh Sin Siang
Lee Chi Ngan	Ling Cong Xiang	Oh Ying San
Law Jia Jge	Sia Hooi Lip	Wong Khang Siang

The competition was graced and officiated by Ms Ng Wan Peng, Chief Operating Officer of Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC). The panel of judges to this year’s competition included Pn Eneng Faridah Iskandar, Senior Director, Outreach and Engagement Division of MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission), Jose Cequena, Senior Manager of F-Secure Labs Kuala Lumpur and Chang Kim Meng, Service Manager of F-Secure Labs Kuala Lumpur. 

As the champion of 2014 F-Secure Inter-Varsity IT Security Competition, (L-R) Law Jia Jge (23), Lim Yen Sheng (24) and Lee Chi Ngan (23) walked away with three Macbook Pro worth RM5, 000 each.

Pn Eneng shared, “As the regulatory body for the communications and multimedia industry in Malaysia, MCMC places high importance on security issues and as such, is always supportive of efforts to further develop expertise and knowledge in the area. This competition is also in line with MCMC’s Klik Dengan BijakTM Programme, that emphasizes the importance of safety, security and responsibility in the use of ICT and we commend F-Secure on this initiative”.  

Ms Ng Wan Peng (lady in black),  Chief Operating Officer of Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), presented the 1st runner-up, team The Bounty Hunter from University Sains Malaysia, with three Microsoft Surface worth RM2,000 each.

The finale challenge featured a jeopardy-like course comprising different categories and levels that tested the participants’ hands-on skills and knowledge. All three teams were given three laptops each and they were required to complete each tasks within the fastest time and the one with the highest score is then crowned the champion of the 2014 F-Secure Inter-Varsity IT Security Competition. 

Pn Eneng Faridah Iskandar (lady in grey), Senior Director of Outreach and Engagement Division of MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission), presented team Xposure from Multimedia University Malacca (2nd runner-up) with three smart-watches worth RM500 each.

“MDeC, the driver of MSC Malaysia and Digital Malaysia initiative is indeed honoured to collaborate with F-Secure in the concerted effort to improve the skills of our undergraduates and fresh graduates. MDeC’s Talent Division has formulated and introduced a host of programmes which are aimed at meeting the demands of the current and future workforce requirements of the ICT industry at the local and global levels,” said Ms Ng.

The panel of judges to this year’s competition included Pn Eneng Faridah Iskandar, Senior Director, Outreach and Engagement Division of MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission), Jose Cequena, Senior Manager of F-Secure Labs Kuala Lumpur and Chang Kim Meng, Service Manager of F-Secure Labs Kuala Lumpur.

Echoing the same sentiment, Ingvar Froiland, General Manager of F-Secure Corporation said, “Due to our everyday involvement requiring us to be online, security plays an important sector in the IT industry. With such competition, we strongly believe in investing and nurturing young minds by providing platforms for these future leaders to contribute to the industry”. He continued, “Being one of the pioneers in providing top IT security solutions, we would like to put a footprint in the industry in accordance to offering and inventing premium grade information security solutions and services to users at large”.

Do you feel the intensity of the competition? The finale challenge featured a jeopardy-like course comprising different categories and levels that tested the participants’ hands-on skills and knowledge. All three teams were given three laptops each and they were required to complete each tasks within the fastest time and the one with the highest score is then crowned the champion. 

After a two-hour intense battle, the champion walked away with three MacBooks worth RM5, 000 each. The 1st runner-up, team The Bounty Hunter received three Microsoft Surface Tablets worth RM2, 000 each and the 2nd runner-up, team Xposure walked away with three smart-watches worth RM500 each. In addition, all three participating teams were also presented with 1-year premium F-Secure Internet and Mobile security protection. 

Team Xposure in action

N2L team from University Sains Malaysia was cheering loudly when they were announced as the winner for the competition. Being final year students majoring in Computer Science, this first timer was made of Lim Yen Sheng (24), Lee Chi Ngan (23) and Law Jia Jge (23). “We are overjoyed when the result was announced as we never saw it coming,” Lim said. Lee added, “We are glad to have strategized well throughout the competition by assigning one another to be fully prepared on our core strengths as well as to push our limits to overcome our weaker subject areas”. 

Team The Bounty Hunter in action

For more information about F-Secure Malaysia and their services, please visit       http://www.f-secure.com or call 603 2264 0200. You can also connect with F-Secure through Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FSecure and follow them on Twitter at https://twitter.com/fsecure.

Team N2L in action

MICROSOFT MALAYSIA INVESTS RM3.045 BILLION TO ENHANCE INNOVATION AMONG TERTIARY STUDENTS

Petaling Jaya, 19 May 2009 – Microsoft Malaysia today announced its RM3.045 billion investment, in the form of the Microsoft DreamSpark initiative, to further develop the technology skills and spur innovation amongst 870,000 tertiary students in the country.

This DreamSpark investment of RM3.045 billion follows on from Microsoft Malaysia’s previous commitment of RM500 million for its BizSpark program to nurture local start-up companies and technopreneurs made late last year – bringing the world’s largest software company’s investments in Malaysia to approximately RM3.5 billion announced in the last six months. Its Managing Director Yasmin Mahmood said that the newly launched DreamSpark initiative is part of a joint initiative between Microsoft and the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE). The DreamSpark initiative will provide students with free access to current Microsoft software developer and designer tools, such as Visual Studio Pro, Expression Studio, XNA Game Studio2.0, SQL Server Developer Edition and many other software products and tools from the Microsoft portfolio.

“DreamSpark is part of Microsoft’s commitment to develop human capital among students in Malaysia. We are confident these students will benefit from this program as it will help them realize their potential, in both their academic life and future careers,” she said. The program provides students with powerful technology currently used by professional software developers, giving them a head start in terms of skill and creating solutions that are relevant to marketplace.

Yasmin was speaking at the launch of Microsoft DreamSpark program and the Imagine Cup prize presentation held here today. Also present were Higher Education Deputy Minister Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah, Director-General Department of Higher Education Malaysia Professor Dato’ Ir. Dr. Radin Umar Radin Sohadi and Vice Chancellor of Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka Professor Dr. Ahmad Yusoff Hassan.

Dato’ Saifuddin said that Malaysia’s greatest competitive asset is its human capital, and its development will transform the nation from a resource-based extraction economy into a country that is built on continuous innovation. “We have embarked on a close-working relationship with Microsoft to unearth the bright stars in technology innovation among tertiary students by providing the necessary tools and platforms for them to showcase their innovative skills,” he said.

He said that public-private sector partnerships like this with Microsoft and the institutes of higher learning (IHLs) have to exist across all industries to draw out the full potential of the country’s human capital. “Young people are the key to the nation’s renewal and I urge all students to take advantage of such opportunities and the exponential growth of technology to drive the growth of Malaysian IP in the global marketplace,” he added.

At today’s event, 26 teams from 13 universities showcased their winning solutions for the Imagine Cup Malaysia finals. Themed “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today”, the students’ creations are aligned to curb the world’s most challenging social issues as outlined by the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, ranging from issues regarding extreme poverty and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS to providing universal primary education.

Yasmin said while DreamSpark enables students with professional tools to innovate, the Imagine Cup provides them with a platform to showcase those innovations. “Through these two initiatives, we are helping to unleash some of the greatest innovations and businesses of the future,” she said.

Now in its seventh year, the Imagine Cup aims to inspire students to innovate, to apply their creativity to discover new ways technology can be used and yet stay relevant, using those solutions to address some of the most critical issues challenging society at large today. In essence, it is about creating real-world solutions to solve real-world problems.

Globally known as the World Cup of software, Imagine Cup 2009 has attracted over 300,000 students from more than 100 countries to date, and in Malaysia the number of participants grew from 1,000 in 2008 to 2,600 this year.

“Over the years, our collaboration with the ministry, educational institutions and key industry stakeholders have allowed us to empower more than 180,000 students and teachers through K-12 and secondary school, as well more than 140,000 higher education students to encourage innovation through technology. We look forward to see the progress of our investments into the nation’s human capital development yield solutions that will impact the society and the economy,” Yasmin said.

Winners of the Malaysian Imagine Cup, Team Capricorn from Universiti Sains Malaysia, will qualify for the Worldwide Finals in Cairo, Egypt from July 3-7, 2009. Lim Kian Long, Chung Kok Hoe, Marilyn Lim and Steven Lim will be presenting their entry entitled “GreenEve2Peace” to a global audience in Egypt. “GreenEve2Peace” is a software solution that helps farmers consider multiple elements affecting crop production, with the end goal of increasing crop yields. Prizes for Imagine Cup 2009 will total more than RM630,000 across nine categories: Software Design, Embedded Development, Game Development, Robotics and Algorithm, IT Challenge, MashUp, Photography, Short Film and Design.

For more information on Imagine Cup and DreamSpark, please visit www.imaginecup.com and www.dreamspark.com.