10/12/2025

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | DEC 10, 2025

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

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Fortinet warns of surge in AI-driven cybercrime

TechStore bags RM89.7m contract from Prasarana PETALING JAYA: Enterprise IT services provider TechStore Bhd, via wholly owned subsidiary Tech-Store Malaysia Sdn Bhd, yesterday accepted a contract worth RM89.7 million from Prasarana Malaysia Bhd for design, supply, delivery, installation, integration, testing and commissioning of digital radio and on-board live detection systems for the Kelana Jaya LRT Line. The Kelana Jaya Line is one of the Klang Valley’s busiest rail networks, with annual ridership increasing to approximately 84.7 million passengers in 2024 (2023: 73.8 million). The implementation of a new digital radio system and on-board communication system will play a crucial role in enhancing com munication efficiency across train operations, strengthening real-time monitoring capabilities, thereby support a safer and more reliable rail services for commuters. Managing director Tan Hock Lim said they are committed to ensuring the success of this latest upgrade for the Kelana Jaya LRT Line, which aligns with Prasarana’s commitment to delivering a more efficient, technology-enabled and people-centred transportation system. “TechStore’s outlook remains promising, supported by the national development priorities under the 13th Malaysia Plan (2026 to 2030) and the Budget 2026, which designates over RM12 billion for transport modernisation. These initiatives reinforce the nation’s ambition to build a safer and future-ready mobility network. Our expertise in both brownfield and greenfield rail technology projects positions us well to support Malaysia’s evolving mobility landscape,”Tan added. As at Sept 30, 2025, TechStore recorded an unbilled order book of RM106.6 million, excluding this latest award. The group’s tender book, meanwhile, has grown to RM1.9 billion. PETALING JAYA: UMediC Group Bhd (UMC), a medical device marketing and distribution provider that also manufactures its own range of medical consumables, recorded an 8.5% increase in revenue to RM14.2 million for the first quarter of the financial year ending July 31, 2026, compared to the RM13.1 million posted in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. In a statement, UMC said that this in turn gave rise to a 6.1% increase in gross profit to RM5.4 million while profit after tax improved by 1.4% to RM1.9 million. The overall growth was mainly driven by higher demand for medical devices from both public and private hospitals as well as other healthcare service providers. UMC executive director/CEO Lim Taw Seong said, “Our first quarter performance demon strated our confidence towards the group’s ability in achieving continued growth. “Beyond just financials, we are also amidst exciting times given the expansion of our role within the healthcare ecosystem through our venture into the provision of ambulance vehicles and services, a dedicated healthcare centre alongside the establishment of our learning centre.” He added the entry into various healthcare segments presents a valuable opportunity for the Group as they capture the immense growing demand for these solutions. At the same time, he said, they are embarking on their next phase of expansion, integrating advanced manufacturing tech nologies and enlarging their cleanroom facilities to meet rising global demand. “These initiatives underscore our com mitment to enhance our capabilities and expand our presence across the healthcare value chain,” said Lim. UMediC delivers healthy Q1 results

o Malaysia faces new phase of risk as artificial intelligence accelerates scale and sophistication of attacks: Experts

that used to take hours and respond at the same speed and precision as the threats they face.” Fortinet’s senior vice-president for Asia, Rashish Pandey, said 2026 could mark the emergence of fully agentic cyberattacks, autonomous, multi-step intrusions executed with minimal human input. “We have not seen full agentic cybercrimes happen yet, but we forecast that in 2026 we will see the first wave,” he said, adding that defenders will need AI just to stay at the same speed, if not ahead.” Rashish stressed that while attackers are moving towards full autonomy, defence will still require “humans in the loop” at critical decision points, even as high-volume work becomes heavily automated. He warned that Malaysian companies cannot rely on legacy, piecemeal systems. Some organisations use up to 20 to 30 different cybersecurity tools, making coordinated detection and response nearly impossible. Consolidation, automation and AI-powered orchestration will become key priorities for 2026. On the types of attacks gaining ground in Malaysia, he said, ransomware and malware remain the fastest-growing threats. Two worrying trends are emerging: rising attacks on critical infrastructure such as utilities, healthcare and financial services, and a rapid increase in scams targeting the elderly and less tech-savvy communities. SMEs, he said, are particularly vulnerable due to limited cybersecurity teams and deeper integration into global supply chains. Looking ahead to 2026, Rashish said, Malaysia must adopt a “nationally co ordinated response” involving government, vendors, academia and industry players.

Ű BY DEEPALAKSHMI MANICKAM sunbiz@thesundaily.com

one big event. It’s a continuous set of pressures, constant, complicated and in creasingly AI-driven,” he added. “This is why the industry needs to shift from reactive defence to integrated, intelligence-led defence that simplifies complexity and automates response.” Wong emphasised that when attacks take place in seconds, organisations cannot afford responses that take minutes. The future, he said, lies in automated containment, automated correlation and automated validation, capabilities that are becoming essential rather than optional. “Intelligent security ensures we always stay alert, where every inspection and every decision is backed by real-time threat intelligence and AI,” he said. Fortinet’s strategy is anchored on three pillars: secure networking, unified SASE and AI-driven security operations. Wong said these areas reflect where customers “need the most support today”, especially as hybrid work expands and SOC teams face fatigue amid rising volumes of automated attacks. He noted that AI has been embedded into Fortinet’s work for over 15 years, powering more than 20 security solutions and driving capabilities such as FortiAI Protect, Assist and Secure. The company also holds more than 500 AI-related patents. “AI is now deeply integrated across our security fabric,” Wong said. “It allows teams to interpret information faster, automate tasks

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is entering a new phase of cyber risk as artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates both the scale and sophistication of attacks, widening an already critical cybersecurity talent gap and pushing organisations into what industry leaders warn will soon resemble an “AI-versus-AI battle ground”. At Fortinet’s year-end media briefing yesterday, country manager Kevin Wong said, cybercrime has evolved into a highly coordinated, always-on ecosystem that no longer operates in isolated pockets but mirrors an industrialised economy. “This shows that cybercrime is no longer a set of isolated incidents. It’s a highly organised, industrialised system that keeps operating whether we’re online or not,” he said. “Cyber risk today is not a single crisis. Threats are always on, always looking for the smallest gap to exploit.” Wong said Malaysia’s digital landscape has become increasingly complex, with organi sations struggling to secure fragmented systems, hybrid infrastructures and rapid shifts across cloud, OT environments and remote access. AI is compounding the issue, enabling attackers to strike “faster, smarter and far more customised than ever before”. “The risk landscape is no longer defined by KUALA LUMPUR: Trust company Virtue Trustee Bhd (VTB) aims to grow its assets under management (AUM) to RM500 million by 2026, up from the RM100 million it currently manages, driven by confidence in Malaysia’s economic trajectory and its strategic partnerships across government and private institutions. Chairman Datuk Mazlan Ahmad said the company is highly optimistic about Malaysia’s growth prospects, believing the country is on track to becoming a leading economy and that VTB intends to be a committed partner in the nation’s wealth-governance journey. “So while our official target is RM200 million, as chairman I would like to see RM500 million in AUM next year. And I believe we can achieve that. We are not working alone. We are working through strategic partnerships not in silos but together with government and private institutions. With this smart partnership model, RM500 million is very achievable,” he told reporters at the official launch of VTB yesterday. VTB provides a suite of trustee, Islamic, and fiduciary services to support both individual and corporate clients, covering estate administration, family trusts, hibah (Islamic lifetime gift) trusts, and corporate trusteeship. Mazlan said these services ensure that assets are managed responsibly, preserved across generations and distributed in accordance with the owner’s wishes. “Many people assume trusts are only for the super-rich. In reality, a trust is simply a legal Ű BY HAYATUN RAZAK sunbiz@thesundaily.com

Virtue Trustee targets RM500m AUM by 2026

From left: Virtue Trustee business development director Alexis Goh Haw director Gan Ming Chiek and Ahmad Durani at the launch. Kwang, Mazlan,

the right structures to reduce vulnerability, prevent disputes and promote long-term financial security,” he said. At the launch, VTB formalised strategic partnerships with Masryef Advisory Sdn Bhd, Capital Investment Bank (Labuan) Ltd, VCorp Holdings Sdn Bhd, Prestige Elite Sdn Bhd and Bayfront Law LLC (Singapore). These partnerships form the foundation of an integrated trust ecosystem designed to enhance service quality, regulatory compliance and client support. “By partnering with advisory firms, investment banks and legal specialists, we are building a robust ecosystem that ensures clients receive end-to-end, seamless support,” Ahmad Durani said. Looking ahead, VTB plans to expand its digital advisory tools, broaden its corporate trusteeship capabilities and strengthen its role in Malaysia’s wealth-governance landscape as demand for structured, secure and Syariah aligned estate planning continues to grow.

structure that separates ownership from control, managed professionally. A family trust is an accessible wealth management tool for the general public, which can be initiated with fully-owned assets starting from tens of thousands of ringgit,” he stated. CEO Ahmad Durani Razad Khan said a key focus of VTB’s offerings is its syariah-compliant wealth management solutions. “We provide Islamic private trusts based on hibah and wasiat principles, as well as takaful linked trusts to ensure that payouts are managed responsibly for the long-term benefit of beneficiaries.” Ahmad Durani said VTB also seeks to address longstanding gaps in financial literacy and structured wealth planning among Malaysians, including SMEs, professionals and first-generation entrepreneurs. “Many families lack access to reliable information on protecting wealth or planning for succession. Our role is to guide them with