Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW) 2022

Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW) 2022

Mr Teo Chee Hean, Singapore’s Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 7th Singapore International Cyber Week today. SM Teo highlighted the need for a comprehensive defence of cyberspace, citing the importance of international cooperation in building a robust framework consisting of norms of responsible state behaviour, confidence-building measures and capacity-building standards.

SM Teo added that Singapore is committed to developing strategies and measure to resist cyber threats, pointing to the addition of the sixth pillar of Digital Defence to Singapore’s Total Defence strategy in 2019. As part of efforts to strengthen Singapore’s defences against cyber threats, SM Teo announced that an interagency Counter Ransomware Task Force (CRTF) was set up earlier this year.

SM Teo also announced additional initiatives to protect individual consumers and companies. The Internet Hygiene Portal (IHP) is an initiative under Singapore’s Safer Cyberspace Masterplan and serves as a one-stop platform providing enterprises with easy access to resources and self-assessment tools.

Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity, delivered the welcome remarks at the SICW Summit today. Against the challenging backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions and an evolving cyber threat landscape, Minister Teo highlighted the need for a strong global cybersecurity architecture to address critical cybersecurity challenges.

She added that a multistakeholder approach is required to strengthen our global cybersecurity architecture, and give people and businesses the confidence to engage with the digital domain. This approach involves ensuring that platforms such as the Singapore International Cyber Week exist, for fruitful discussions and consensus-building, and that regional and global stakeholders are present to voice their perspectives and concerns.

Minister Teo also emphasised that it is more important than ever for our cyberspace to remain open, stable and interoperable, in order for all states to build trust in the international cyber environment.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Ms Izumi Nakamitsu, also delivered pre-recorded remarks. The Summit was also attended by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, the Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas, who delivered the keynote address.

Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information and Ministry of National Development, announced the launch of the SME Cybersecurity Excellence Award at the SG Cyber Safe Partner Appreciation event today. The Award recognises SMEs that are committed to cybersecurity and have attained Cyber Essentials marks. Mr Tan also announced that the Singapore Standards Council (SSC) has approved and published the Cyber Essentials and Cyber Trust mark certification as a national standard under Technical Reference (TR) 106. This marks a significant development as national standards communicate a consistent level of quality and drive acceptance, which in turn enhances businesses’ access to markets.

In addition, Mr Tan announced that CSA will be building up a directory of cybersecurity solutions providers to make cybersecurity more accessible to businesses.

On 18 October, Permanent Secretary for Communications and Information Joseph Leong held a bilateral meeting with Mr Wang Lei, Coordinator for Cyber Affairs at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the sidelines of the 2022 Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW). Mr Leong and Mr Wang had a good discussion on cyber and digital cooperation between Singapore and China, including under the ambit of China’s Dialogue Partnership with ASEAN.

During Mr Wang’s visit to Singapore last week, he spoke at an SICW 2022 Ministerial Roundtable on Building Confidence and Trust in Cyberspace alongside senior representatives from Australia, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. Mr Wang also co-chaired the 2nd ASEAN-China Cyber Dialogue on 19 October, which was held in hybrid format on the sidelines of the SICW and attended by all ASEAN Member States.

Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Communications and Information and the Ministry of Health, delivered the opening address at the International IoT Security Roundtable Leadership Dialogue today. In his address, Dr Janil noted that IoT devices have become increasingly integral to our daily lives, from consumer smart home devices to smart traffic lights in smart cities. He added that it is critical to strengthen the security of our IoT ecosystem, and pointed to the introduction of Cybersecurity Labelling Scheme (CLS), which was first introduced in 2020 to provide a way for consumers to make more informed choices when buying IoT devices.

To expand the CLS for a more secure IoT ecosystem, Dr Janil has also announced that Singapore will sign a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with Germany to mutually recognise the cybersecurity labels issued by CSA and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik. In addition, Dr Janil also announced the launch of the CLS for Medical Devices [CLS (MD)]. Under this scheme, medical devices are rated according to their levels of cybersecurity provisions, which will allow consumers and healthcare providers to make informed decisions about the use of such devices.

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) have signed a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA). Under the MRA, smart consumer products including smart cameras, smart televisions, smart speakers, and more that are issued with Germany’s IT Security Label and Singapore’s Cybersecurity Label will be mutually recognised in either country.

Germany is the second country after Finland to formalise the mutual recognition of national cybersecurity labels with Singapore.

In her opening remarks at the SICW Women in Cyber event today, Minister Josephine Teo announced the launch of the CSA-National Cybersecurity R&D Lab Scholarship (NCLS). Open to students in the National University of Singapore pursuing Master’s degrees focusing on #cybersecurity, the Scholarship will nurture R&D talents at the postgraduate level, with the aim of drawing on diverse talent pools to build a sustainable talent pipeline.

Minister Teo also highlighted ongoing efforts to dismantle barriers and foster greater gender diversity in leadership positions in the cybersecurity domain, pointing to the Cybersecurity Strategic Leadership Programme launched by CSA and the Singapore Management University in September.

Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity, delivered the opening address at the ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Cybersecurity today, where she highlighted that strengthening collective security in the digital domain is critical to the sustainable growth of our digital economy.

Minister Teo also announced the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), a key initiative in the ASEAN Cyber Cooperation Strategy. With cyber-attacks growing in scale and sophistication, Singapore recognises the need to be more intentional in strengthening regional CERT-to-CERT collaboration with other ASEAN Member States. The establishment of the ASEAN Regional CERT marks an important step in building up our regional cyber resilience.

Three SICW Ministerial Roundtables were held earlier today at the Singapore International Cyber Week. CSA Chief Executive Mr David Koh moderated the first Ministerial Roundtable Session on “Cyber Resilience in the New Normal”.

The discussions at the panels explored the challenges of a transboundary cyberspace, the importance of safeguarding our digital commons and ensuring channels of communication are kept open to continue building trust in cyberspace. Speakers included Brunei’s Minister-in-charge of Cybersecurity, Ghana’s Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, New Zealand’s Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications and Philippines’ Secretary of Information and Communications Technology.

The Cyber Supply Chain Conversation was held on 18 October at Marina Bay Sands, with over 340 attendees from all over the world. Cyber supply chain risks are complex and addressing these must be a multi-pronged effort. The discussions during yesterday’s session reflected a collective effort in leveraging technology to address systemic risks from increased digitalisation and cyber-attacks.

The Operational Technology (OT) Conversation on OT Cybersecurity Detection & Response took place on 20 October, with around 200 participants in attendance.

The discussion revolved around the need to continue improving our cyber resilience today, in order to tackle the ever-evolving cyber threats of tomorrow. These efforts will include upskilling people, as well as supporting innovation towards more robust processes and solutions that will be able to detect and respond to cyber incidents swiftly in the OT environment.

Dr Steven Wong moderated a panel discussion among Mr Olaf Kolkman, Mr John Suffolk, Mr Lee Dolsen and Mr Fernando Serto at the SICW Sessions on “Internet vs Splinternet – Implications of Securing the Digital Future”.

The panellists agreed that the splintering of the internet is a complex and multi-faceted issue. Nation-states should first identify their topline cybersecurity risks and areas of concern as a basis for collaboration with international partners to harmonise and integrate the fragmented Internet.