SINGAPORE – To strengthen the Republic’s national cyber defence efforts, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) will be joining forces with Microsoft and Google.
In his opening keynote address at the Singapore International Cyber Week event at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced that the CSA is signing separate agreements with the two tech companies.
The CSA said the memorandums of understanding will facilitate cyberthreat intelligence sharing, joint operations to combat cybercrime and malicious cyber activity, exchanges on emerging and critical technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), and capacity-building efforts.
States and industry players share a collective responsibility to build a stable and secure cyberspace, and these partnerships further Singapore’s commitment to continue working closely with key players, the agency said, adding that it welcomes more partnerships with other key industry players.
Mr Heng said it is in the interests of Big Tech companies to build a digital domain that is secure, trusted and inclusive, so that they can maximise their reach and impact.
“By working in partnership with the public sector, both sides can realise synergies and achieve better outcomes… We must encourage more of such public-private partnerships, to develop win-win solutions that safeguard and expand the public good,” he added.
Ms Michaela Browning, Google’s vice-president of government affairs and public policy for Asia-Pacific, said the company is proud to deepen its commitment to building greater cyber resilience in Singapore.
“Generative AI will present novel security risks, including misinformation and cyberthreats, but will also become the foundation for a new generation of cyber defences through advanced security operations and front-line intelligence, if we are bold and responsible with its development and regulation.”
Microsoft Singapore managing director Lee Hui Li said: “Such international collaborations will enhance our customers’ trust in the digital domain as we leverage collective capabilities and innovate with AI to combat emerging cyberthreats.”
Singapore will also be launching a new training programme to better meet global demand for cyber training.
The SG Cyber Leadership and Alumni Programme is open to all countries, offering courses at the foundational, advanced and executive levels, said Mr Heng, adding that it will kick off its first course in March 2024.
“Participants can look forward to increased networking opportunities, and richer exchange of perspectives with participants from across the globe on the latest cyber issues,” he said.
To support this new programme, Singapore’s earlier funding commitment of $30 million for cyber-capacity building will be extended by another three years, from 2024 to 2026.
In his speech, Mr Heng also outlined three ways that Singapore can proactively shape the emerging digital order of the world.
First, Singapore must foster partnerships across borders and sectors. Mr Heng highlighted some of the country’s efforts in doing so – such as its work at the United Nations Open-Ended Working Group on security of and in the use of information communications technologies, and Singapore’s digital economy agreements with Australia, Britain and South Korea.
Second, there is also a need to build the right frameworks and scaffold them with shared rules, to facilitate constructive and meaningful discussions among stakeholders, he said, adding that rules can be thought about on two levels.
At the technical level, rules exist to ensure interoperability. That will enable technologies to communicate with one another, which is the basis for developing an encompassing and inclusive digital domain, Mr Heng said.
Besides technical rules and standards, there must also be rules and norms among countries to ensure peaceful coexistence in an increasingly crowded digital space.
In prescribing and proscribing what are acceptable and unacceptable behaviours, the world can foster stability and predictability. This, in turn, can reduce the risk of escalation or conflict in the digital domain, Mr Heng added.
“This is especially pertinent for small states, which make up more than half of all UN member states. Rules and norms in the digital domain help to build trust, and instil greater confidence that all countries, regardless of their size or rate of development in the domain, will not be disadvantaged.”
Lastly, there is also a need to build up capacity to secure and protect countries from threats and harms.
“Digital security and resilience are prerequisites for reaping the benefits of digitalisation. We must ensure that all countries build up this capacity, and no one is deprived of harnessing the possibilities of digitalisation. Those of us who are further along in their digitalisation journey must support those who are catching up,” said Mr Heng.
He raised several examples of how Singapore has helped to build capacity in cyber security, including setting up the Asean Singapore Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence in 2019, which has delivered more than 50 programmes for over 1,500 senior officials from Asean and beyond.
“As we navigate the digital revolution, we must remain focused on the end goal of enabling a safer, more prosperous, and more inclusive world. We must collectively lean forward to learn from and collaborate with one another, and shape the emerging digital order to be trusted, secure and inclusive.”
