Singapore creates operations hub to beef up cyberdefense
Singapore has created a centralized Cyber Defence Operations Hub for more robust defences for the country's military networks.
The country's defense minister said on Saturday the round-the-clock operations hub will help develop expertise to combat evolving cyber threats, which not only disrupts the military's front and back-end systems, but civilian water and electricity grids, local publication MyPaper reported.
The hub will carry out day-to-day cyberdefense operations to detect, identify, contain and neutralize cyberthreats to the country's military networks, and quickly recover the networks if needed.
"We are beefing up our cyberdefence because that's the next leap forward that we see," Ng said. He added the issue of cyberattacks was a major point made at the Shangri-La security dialogue in Singapore by the U.S. Defense Secretary last month.
The Singapore Armed Force's back-end functions such as logistics and engineering, and its front-end capabilities in sensing and responding to threats all depend on computer networks, Ng pointed out.
The hub will partner Singapore Infocomms Technology Security Authority to keep abreast of the latest developments in cyberthreats, but will also draw on the existing expertise from the SAF and Ministry of Defence, as well as the defense technology community. It will also consolidate cybersecurity efforts and work with other agencies, including the Singapore Infocomm Technology Security Authority, noted a report by Today.
Ng declined to reveal the size of the operations hub but said it was not starting from scratch, but gathering everything together and putting it under one centralized agency.
The country has taken steps to beef up cybersecurity defences. In March, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it will open a facility to train law enforcers in countering cyberattacks. The Economic Development Board (EDB) has collaborated with security vendor RSA to send candidates from local universities and cybersecurity professionals to the latter's Anti-Fraud Command Center in Israel for training for up to two years.