The Government has launched a five-year National Cyber Security Masterplan 2018 to further secure Singapore’s cyber environment and develop the country as a trusted and robust infocomm hub.

Announcing this at the Information Security Seminar 2013, Minister for Communications and Information Dr Yaacob Ibrahim said the Masterplan adopts a collaborative approach across the public, private and people sectors to enhance the security of Singapore’s critical infocomm infrastructure and address the security of businesses and individuals.

Developed through a multi-agency effort led by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) under the guidance of the National Infocomm Security Committee (NISC), the Masterplan provides an overarching strategic direction to help the Government and organisations strengthen their resilience against cyber threats.

It will focus on three key areas. The first of these is to enhance the security and resilience of critical infocomm infrastructure (CII). This includes a CII Protection Assessment Programme to identify vulnerabilities and gaps to help strengthen Singapore’s CII against complex cyber threats. National cyber security exercises will continue to be conducted for critical industry sectors over the next five years, with the addition of new cross-sector exercises. For the public sector, the existing Cyber Watch Centre and Threat Assessment Centre will both be upgraded for improved detection and analytical capabilities.

The second area of focus is to increase efforts to promote the adoption of appropriate infocomm security measures among individuals and businesses. IDA will continue to reinforce cyber security awareness through online platforms, road shows, educational and current affairs programmes. Collaborations with industry and trade associations will also take place to promote cyber security and share cyber threat information.

The third focus area of the Masterplan is to grow Singapore’s pool of infocomm security experts. IDA will be working with Singapore’s Institutes of Higher Learning to incorporate infocomm security courses and degree programmes into the curriculum. IDA will also work with industry partners to attract and retain such skilled professionals in Singapore.

“The cyber security landscape is rapidly evolving and we must sustain and step up our efforts to meet the challenges posed by the increasingly sophisticated cyber threats,” said Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of NISC. “Over the next five years, the National Cyber Security Masterplan will guide our efforts to raise the capability and level of preparedness in the public, private and people sectors to better respond to and manage these cyber threats.”

The National Cyber Security Masterplan succeeds the Infocomm Security Masterplan and Infocomm Security Masterplan 2 that were implemented from 2005 to 2012. The previous masterplans put in place capabilities that enhanced situational awareness and risk mitigation through the setup of a Cyber Watch Centre and Threat Analysis Centre. The Secure and Resilient Internet Infrastructure Code of Practice was also implemented, making Singapore one of the first countries to mandate the adoption of cyber security measures by designated Internet Service Providers. Two other major initiatives introduced under the previous masterplans were the Cyber Security Awareness Alliance, which was established to promote infocomm security awareness, and the Association of Information Security Professionals, which was set up to develop local infocomm security professionals.