- Multi-million Ringgit investment with 40 execs produces ‘immaterial goods’, says MD
- AI-powered centre enhances defence, data sovereignty, and national digital readiness
Leonardo officially opened its new Regional Cyber Center in Shah Alam on Dec 3 with its senior leadership touting the centre as proof of Malaysia’s rising prominence in the Southeast Asian cybersecurity landscape. The multi-million Ringgit (it declined to give a specific amount) investment in facilities, know how, training centre, staffed with 40 execs strengthens Leonardo’s global network of mission-critical cyber facilities.
The global aerospace, defense, and security group with a 40-year legacy in Malaysia, said the Shah Alam facility will deliver operational technology (OT) and IT cybersecurity solutions, advanced analytics, training, and managed services.
Andrea Campora, Managing Director of Leonardo’s Cyber & Security Solutions Division, said, “We live in a world where stability, both regional and global, is increasingly challenged by threats. Mastering cybersecurity, data management, and data production is a national security imperative. It is directly tied to economic prosperity and full sovereignty.”
He described the new cyber center as a facility producing what he calls “immaterial goods,” referring to security, trust, and the digital confidence that modern societies require. “By investing in highly skilled Malaysian talent, we are transferring procedures, methodologies, and ethics that are essential to national resilience.”
Fahmi Fadzil, Communications Minister, in officiating the event expressed concern that many organizations continue to underestimate cybersecurity. “They do not prioritise investment, management oversight, or the cultural shift required to stay resilient.” The persistent national talent shortage was of concern too.
Fahmi added that Leonardo’s investment aligns with Malaysia’s ambition to strengthen both national and regional cyber readiness. “Today’s launch sends a strong signal that Malaysia, together with Leonardo, can contribute to regional cybersecurity capacity-building.”
Fahmi urged corporate Malaysia to adopt stronger cybersecurity practices, appoint Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), run red-teaming exercises, and treat every staff member as part of the attack surface.
Joining Leonardo’s global CyberSec network
The center now joins Leonardo’s Global CyberSec Center (GCC) network, alongside federated hubs in Chieti, Bristol, Brussels, and Riyadh. Together, these centers safeguard defence agencies and critical national infrastructures through shared threat intelligence, coordinated cyber operations, and stringent protection of sovereign data.
According to the company, the decision to base the center in Malaysia reflects the country’s leadership in cybersecurity, supported by progressive legislation and robust protection of critical infrastructure. It will serve customers across Southeast Asia and the Far East, primarily staffed by Malaysian engineers, analysts, and cybersecurity specialists. It did not disclose the headcount.
Italian Ambassador Raffaele Langella, and Malaysian defense officials.
With Malaysia’s digital economy now contributing a quarter of national GDP, Fahmi emphasized the growing convergence of cyber threats with the nation’s communications infrastructure.
“What has this got to do with communications? It has everything to do with communications. Many threats actors misuse and exploit communication networks to launch attacks, whether state-linked, criminal, or, in the future, even autonomous agentic AI threats.”
Looking ahead, he warned that the “quantum era” is approaching rapidly, urging Malaysia to prepare for “the post-quantum landscape that will reshape global security.”
Italian Ambassador Raffaele Langella framed the launch in a broader geopolitical context, noting that Leonardo is “recognized as a strategic partner,” and that the new cyber security centre demonstrates Malaysia’s reliability and forward-looking stance in the eyes of leading Italian companies.
Building Malaysian talent
Lorenzo Pariani, Managing Director of Leonardo Malaysia, said the Shah Alam center represents the next step in a partnership that spans more than 40 years.
“Leonardo is widely known in Malaysia for our helicopters, the AW189, AW139, and AW149, which support some of the country’s most demanding missions across military, civil, and government sectors. But our Malaysian journey began much earlier, starting with telecommunications and radar systems.”
He emphasized three key factors behind Leonardo’s sustained investment which are stability, a clear national vision, and strong government support.
“In the last three years alone, more than 10,000 students have participated in our training programs. Ninety-five percent of our Malaysian workforce is local. This is the Leonardo approach.”
Lorenzo drew an analogy to underscore the importance of local trust.
“Imagine building a house in Malaysia. You install the best lock and an advanced alarm system. But would you give the keys and alarm codes to someone outside the country? Of course not. This is why we build cybersecurity capacity in Malaysia, with Malaysians. Trust services must be local.”
Strategic pillars for a secure future
The center’s operations are built on three strategic pillars which are end-to-end cyber resilience, secure digital and cloud capabilities. It includes platforms for law enforcement and territorial monitoring, and mission-critical communications.
Leonardo has also acquired companies specializing in Zero-Trust authentication and is actively exploring quantum security, preparing for the post-quantum era of computing.
The facility’s AI-driven orchestration enables autonomous cybersecurity operations. Aldo Sebastiani, SVP of the Global CyberSec Center, explained, “We are moving toward being autonomous in cybersecurity.”
“The operator becomes an orchestrator who sets the mission objectives. Artificial intelligence manages the sensors, the telemetry, the detection, and the response. This level of orchestration is the only way to keep pace with hybrid threats today.”
Nirosha Viraj Kariyapperuma, Leonardo Malaysia’s Cyber Security Technical Manager, demonstrated that the platform aligns with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, developed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology to provide organisations with standards and best practices for managing cybersecurity risks.
“There are 338 dedicated compute nodes in our supercomputer working collectively to provide an operational view on our screens. In the past month alone, the center managed over 35,000 critical alerts.”
Andrea was asked how Leonardo ensures sensitive data stays in Malaysia.
“Coming from Europe, we have deep experience operating under some of the world’s strictest data compliance frameworks. Guarantees depend on the customer and segment. Commercial clients face fewer restrictions, while institutional and classified environments receive full transparency and higher controls. We classify data into Strategic, Critical, and Ordinary tiers. Strategic workloads, such as Ministry of Defence projects, we never use hyper scalers and rely on a private cloud.”
