KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): ECS ICT Bhd said 2017 will remain challenging for its business, in view of the decreasing number of government projects requiring its services, but it sees growth opportunities arising from cybersecurity crises.

The IT- and ICT-related company noted a decline in the number of government projects for the past one to two years.

However, the recent WannaCry online attack, among other cybersecurity issues, would be a boon for the company moving forward.

"For the past one to two years, we feel that the number of government [IT and ICT] projects have been getting [fewer], and this is a challenge for our Enterprise Systems segment," its executive director and chief executive officer Soong Jan Hsung told reporters after its annual general meeting today.

"The government spends quite a bit every year to update their personal computers, notebooks and servers but lately we feel projects have been declining, which means they are not updating their devices as per schedule," Soong said.

However, he added that ECS ICT is optimistic about seeing more projects, not just from the government but also from government-linked companies as well, coming in towards year-end.

"WannaCry shows that companies should not rely on old operating systems, and this is good for our business," Soong said.