Swiss cybersecurity firm WISeKey has teamed up with Cendee, a subsidiary of Malaysian technology investment holding company Censof, to broaden blockchain-related cybersecurity offerings in Malaysia.

WISeKey will use its Cybersecurity Vertical Platform to provide public key infrastructure (PKI), Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain opportunities for Censof’s client projects.

According to a WISeKey press release (Jan 25), the companies will also establish together a “Blockchain Center of Excellence” in Malaysia to support the creation of “a tailored ‘Trusted Blockchain as a Service Platform’”.

WISeKey uses a cryptographic tool known as the “Root of Trust” (RoT) for secure verification. It said that as a first milestone, it has already deployed a Malaysian RoT with Cendee as part of establishing the excellence center.

Malaysia is the latest country and the first in Southeast Asia to join WISeKey’s list of growing blockchain centers around the world. WISeKey also said it had announced others in the last few months for China, India, Africa, the US, and Latin America.

Carlos Moreno, WISeKey’s Vice President of Corporate Alliances and Partnerships, said, “This strategic agreement allows Censof, and in particular Cendee, to leverage their Cybersecurity and Blockchain expertise by combining them with WISeKey’s broad Cybersecurity portfolio of services and also strengthen Censof’s offering among government and enterprise clients.”

Cybersecurity is a major concern especially in light of recent ransomware attacks in such as by WannaCry and NotPetya in 2017, noted Cointelegraph. TheCryptoSight separately noted that last year, Ryuk ransomware thefts amounted to some 705.08 BTC ($2.5 million) being lost. Earlier this month, malware hidden in a shared movie file was found to be able to steal crypto from unsuspecting users.