KUALA LUMPUR, 20 May 2008 - On the opening day of the World Cyber Security Summit (WCSS), the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber-Terrorism (IMPACT) received a new pledge of support from the U.S.-based SANS Institute as well as the endorsement of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

The Washington, DC-based SANS Institute has committed US$1 million for a joint project with IMPACT to increase the cyberdefense capacity of developing countries. The SANS Institute operates the early threat warning Internet Storm Centre and has trained more than 83,000 cybersecurity experts from 60 countries.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said, "The response of countries and companies from around the world is proof of the need for IMPACT. The Malaysian government is proud to be one of its founding members."

Endorsement from the ITU, the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies, came from its Secretary General Dr. Hamadoun Toure. "IMPACT promises to be a key partner in the implementation of our Global Cybersecurity Agenda, forming a crucial, operational defence against all types of cyberthreats," said Dr. Toure.

IMPACT has offered its Secretariat as a physical home for the ITU's Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA), including use of its training facilities, labs and Global Response Centre.

With the new commitments in addition to the initial US$13 million seed fund from the Malaysian Government, IMPACT is set to develop the four key pillars in its charter. These are: Cybersecurity Training and Skills Development; Global Response Centre; Security Certification, Research & Development; and Policy, Regulatory Framework & International Cooperation. IMPACT will aggressively recruit the international expertise and talent required to get IMPACT off the ground.

"Cyberthreats are global in scope, with attackers able to wreck havoc from any country in the world. By bringing together the public and private sectors worldwide, IMPACT offers the international community the ability to fight these threats more effectively across borders," said Mr. Mohd Noor Amin, Chairman of IMPACT's Management Board.

Representatives from more than twenty-five nations joined private sector leaders for IMPACT's official launch, making it the largest public-private gathering of ministers, industry leaders and academics on cybersecurity. IMPACT seeks to provide a base for the sharing of knowledge, information and best practices amongst member governments and companies that will enhance the global community's capacity to prevent and respond to cyberthreats.

Domestic measures alone are inadequate to tackle global cyberthreats. The skills needed to help governments secure their cyberspaces lie mostly outside of government hands, dispersed across the private sector and academia. With this in mind, IMPACT has created an International Advisory Board of nine distinguished and globally renowned luminaries including the leadership of cyber security companies F-Secure, Kaspersky Lab, Oger Systems, Symantec Corporation and Trend Micro. The board also boasts participation from experts such as "Father of the Internet" Dr. Vinton Cerf, former White House cybersecurity advisor Professor Howard Schmidt and Professor Fred Piper, founder of Codes & Ciphers. This board will guide IMPACT's policies and related initiatives.