National campaigns and initiatives are a part of the Safer Cyberspace Masterplan launched in the country last year.

With ransomware and supply chain attacks continuing to remain major concerns in Singapore, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) has launched a slate of new initiatives to encourage businesses and organizations to strengthen their cybersecurity posture.

First, the Cybersecurity Toolkits for Enterprises are tailored to key enterprise roles: large enterprise leaders and small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners, IT teams, and employees.

The toolkit for enterprise leaders and SME owners will focus on the business reasons for business leaders and SME owners to invest in cybersecurity; and how fostering a culture of cybersecurity would enable enterprises to reap the benefits of digital transformation. At the employee level, the cybersecurity toolkit encourages employees to learn about cybersecurity independently to stay cyber safe at work as well as in their private lives. The content addresses the most common cyber threats faced by employees, such as phishing and password hygiene.  

Second, the SG Cyber Safe Partnership Programme is aimed at driving cybersecurity awareness in local businesses, individuals and the wider community. Under this initiative, partnering organizations are classified under two categories:  SG Cyber Safe ‘Advocate’ and ‘Member’.

Advocates typically have a greater and deeper level of collaborations with CSA: they will co-develop program and conduct enterprise outreach to complement SG Cyber Safe initiatives. For a start, CSA has secured the support of 19 partners comprising global and local business organizations, trade associations and societies.

Making cybersecurity a national responsibility

According to the country’s Minister of State for Communications and Information Tan Kiat How:  “Cybersecurity is a collective responsibility that requires the government and the industry to work closely together. The Government alone cannot reach out to all businesses to encourage them to strengthen their cyber resilience.”

Tan noted that private-public collaborations are key to ensuring that businesses stay cyber secure. “We welcome other industry partners who are keen to work with CSA to drive cybersecurity awareness, shift attitudes and encourage adoption amongst enterprises in their digitalization journeys.”