IMPACT Launched to Wage War on Cyber Terrorism

IMPACT, acronym for International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Terrorism, is a nonprofit international body formed to fight the holy war against cyber terrorism. It aims to unify various governments, private-sector organizations and the academic world to combine forces in this enterprise. Abdullah Badawi, the honorable Prime Minister of Malaysia, has sanctioned a whopping sum of USD 13 million to start this body.

IMPACT is the first attempt at public-private partnership at international level to combat cyber terrorism. It purports to bring together the combined power and intelligence of governments, cyber experts and the best of the industry to boost the preventive mechanism and response to the threat worldwide.

A part of the grant allotted will be used to build the headquarters for IMPACT in Cyberjaya in Malaysia. The organization is planning to commence its operation in coming December.

The rest of the sum will go into building four IMPACT centers. They are the Center for Security Certification, Research & Development, the Center for Policy, Regulatory Framework & International Co-operation, the Center for Training & Skills Development and the Center for Global Response.

The member countries of IMPACT will take turns in chairing the organization. It is presently presided by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, whose term is for the first three years. The Chairman of Management Board, IMPACT, Mohd Noor Amin, reiterates that the Malaysian government is only doing their bit to prevent cyber terrorism and paving way for others to follow suit.

Cautionary Notification – IMPACT’s first step

At IMPACT, warning mechanisms are being devised for the benefit of the member countries. The early warning system works by collecting warning messages from IMPACT’s various members and security partners and apprizing all the members of the imminent danger. The second system is a joint venture, where a secure program makes it possible for cyber experts from its member countries to join forces and share information with each other.

IMPACT’s Chief Coordinating Officer and Head of the Center for Training and Skills Development, Al-Ihsal Ishak is optimistic about the new warning systems and the synergetic platform created by IMPACT. He is hopeful that the member countries will work together to make the IMPACT World Cyber Security Summit, Malaysia, a success. Around 30 countries were represented at the ministry-level summit, where organizations like INTERPOL also participated. The secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union was present as he is also the member of IMPACT International Advisory Board.

Focus on International terror

Now the cyber crime has reached such alarming proportions that anything can be expected of them at any time. Whether the criminals are individuals or well-coordinated groups, they are able to wreck havoc in sophisticated high-security areas like air traffic control network, stock markets or even medical records. As the impact of cyber terrorism is huge, Amin has high expectations that a coordinated effort from countries worldwide will help in reigning in the fiends.