S'pore, RSA collaborate on cybersecurity training

SINGAPORE--The Economic Development Board (EDB) will work with RSA on a training program which will see Singaporeans heading the security vendor's facility in Israel for training in cybersecurity and combating online fraud.

In a joint statement released Wednesday, the partners said selected candidates will come from local universities and are existing cybersecurity professionals. They will participate in a residency program at RSA's Anti-Fraud Command Center (AFCC) in Israel which will run for one to two years.

At the Israel-based facility, candidates will work with the security vendor's cybersecurity staff and anti-fraud research analysts to gain skills needed to fight cybercrime in areas such as phishing and Trojan attack detection, analysis and shut-down, and e-commerce and online banking fraud.

The candidates will then return to Singapore for job placements in cybersecurity or hold anti-fraud positions at RSA or within Singapore's cybersecurity industry.

The initiative is part of EDB's Strategic Attachment and Training (STRAT) program which aims to build up Singapore's manpower capabilities in strategic areas and sectors, through overseas training and attachment with leading market players.

Vincent Goh, vice president of RSA Asia-Pacific and Japan, said in the statement the program was a response to the global shortage of qualified professionals with the skills required to help defend citizens, businesses, and governments from cybercrime and cyberespionage.

"The collaboration is an excellent step forward to help in the broader efforts of EDB to develop a new generation of Singaporean cybersecurity professionals," Goh said.

Gian Yi-Hsen, EDB's director of the safety and security industry programme (SSIPO), added the move will lead to the creation of better jobs for Singaporeans and provide a readily available talent pool for companies when they set up operations in the country.

At a media briefing at RSA Conference Asia-Pacific 2013 here Wednesday, Avi Rosen, RSA's general manager of online threats managed services group, said candidate applications for the program will begin in third-quarter 2013, and five candidates will be shortlisted for the first round which will commence at the start of 2014.

Singapore is the first country RSA is working with on this program, and EDB had "proactively" approached the security vendor for talks which started late last year and concluded in early-2013, Rosen noted.

RSA had previously worked with the Israel government on a similar initiative but the program had not been as structured and detailed as the current one, he said.

Moving forward, the company hopes governments of other countries will follow similar public-private models to address the global shortage of cybersecurity talents to combat threats, he added.