During his tenure in CyberSecurity Malaysia, Zahri actively sat in several committees at national level. He participated in the establishment of NISER’s Panel of Experts (POE) in 2001, which then entrusted to develop the National Infostructure Protection Agenda (NIPA) Report. The NIPA Report is a strategic document, which was later referred to during development of the National Cyber Security Policy in 2006, which boosted Malaysia’s reputation in cybersecurity worldwide. He is also committed towards development of the Global Accredited Cybersecurity Education (ACE) Certification (https://globalace.org), a holistic cybersecurity professional certification program in Malaysia. The Scheme was developed in collaboration with government agencies, industry partners and academic institutions. In addition, he leads implementation of 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015), 11th Malaysian Plan (2016-2020) and 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025).
In 2008 to 2012, Zahri contributed his thoughts to implement cybersecurity policy in Malaysia by becoming a Secretariat Head for National Cybersecurity Coordination Committee (NC3) and Cyber Law Review. As the Chief Operating Officer of CyberSecurity Malaysia, he led the team in outlining National Cyber Security Awareness Master Plan chaired by the National Security Council in 2014, National Cyber Drill Committee chaired by National Security Council in 2011-2017 and Cybersecurity Framework for Public Sector chaired by Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) in 2016. He participated as a Working Group Member to develop Malaysia Standard 1970 Business Continuity Management, completed in 2008.
Zahri also expands his network in the academic field by participating in universities academic programs as Industry Advisor, Associate Fellow, Visiting Expert and Adjunct Professor. In 2016 to 2018, UTM Advanced Informatics School appointed Zahri as visiting expert. He was also recognized as Industry Advisor for Master programmes in University Teknologi Malaysia (2012), Universiti Utara Malaysia (2018), Universiti Teknikal Melaka Malaysia (2018 to 2021) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (2020). He became an Associate Fellow for Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 2020-2021.
In recognition of his expertise in cybersecurity, Zahri was appointed as Adjunct Professor at Universiti Teknikal Melaka Malaysia (UTeM) in 2016-2018 and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn in 2020-2021. Alumni UTeM publication featured him in their publication entitled “Anjakan Paradigma Mendepani Cabaran Alumni UTeM”, that reveals his journey fostering cybersecurity in Malaysia, then he was appointed as UTeM Board Member for the term 2020-2023.
Passionate about giving back to the society, Zahri became a speaker to deliver talks to promote cybersecurity awareness towards secondary schools, university students and corporate organisations. He engaged in public events such as Ops Jelajah Siber, Cyber Security Malaysia – Award, Conference and Exhibition (CSM-ACE) and CyberSAFETM in Schools Program. On top of that, he was handpicked as Chief Judge for National ICT Security Discourse (NICTSeD) – CyberSAFETM Challenge Trophy in 2015-2019.
At international front, Zahri’s expertise and experience are significant in sustaining nation’s prominence in cybersecurity, particularly in the Asia Pacific region and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries. He is a central figure in the establishment of OIC Computer Emergency Response Team (OIC-CERT – www.oic-cert.org ), a collaborative effort of CERTs amongst the OIC countries in 2019. He managed research collaboration project on malware amongst OIC-CERT and Asia Pacific Computer and Emergency Response Team (APCERT – www.apcert.org ) in 2017.
Zahri was again selected as an expert in working groups such as Confronting Threats and Violent Extremism on Cyberspace Workshop by the OIC in 2015. He shared his experiences in Dialogue for Asia Pacific Perspectives on the Hague Global Conference on CyberSpace by the International Cyber Policy Centre, Australian Strategic Policy Institute in 2015. In addition, he was recognized as a subject matter expert in cybersecurity for United Nations Group of Government Experts in 2014-2015 and for OIC Standing Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation (COMSTECH) in 2015. Due to his outstanding achievement globally, Zahri was appointed as Scientific and Industrial Advisory Board for National Centre of Cyber Security, Pakistan in 2019 and Advisory Board Member for CyberCyte United Kingdom in 2021.
Zahri continuously contribute his ideas through various publications and presentations on topic related to cybersecurity, cyber terrorism and business continuity management. He holds a PhD in Information Security from UTeM (Malaysia) in 2015, MSc in Electrical Engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (Malaysia) in 1992 and BSc in Computer Science from the Fairleigh Dickinson University (New Jersey, USA) in 1987.
He is registered with the Malaysia Board of Technologists (MBOT) as Professional Technologist in 2018 and was awarded Senior Information Security Professional by the (ISC)2, USA in 2010.
In 2019, Zahri was conferred Paduka Mahkota Perak (P.M.P) in conjunction with Perak Ruler Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah’s 63rd birthday, for his exceptional role in cybersecurity at national and international level.