14 DAY TRIAL // The Cyber Security Agency (CSA) of Singapore is scheduled to start its activity on the first day of April, under the management of the Ministry of Communications and reporting to the office of the Prime Minister.
Some of the duties of the new agency include promotion of security-by-design, increasing public awareness through different programs, as well as developing a stronger cyber-security ecosystem that is capable of responding to cyber-attacks.
CSA will also be responsible for improving the defenses in critical sectors, including energy, water and banking.
Tasks assigned to other entities, such as the Singapore Infocomm Technology Security Authority (SITSA) and some roles of Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), which includes CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team), are also to fall under the jurisdiction of CSA.
According to a communication from the Singaporean Prime Minister’s office in January, Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim will be appointed Minister-in-Charge of Cyber Security, while Mr. David Koh will become Chief Executive of CSA.
Koh is to assume the position in parallel with that of Deputy Secretary (Technology) at the Ministry of Defense (MINDEF), the announcement said.
Strengthening cyber-defenses comes after Singapore has already faced cyber-attacks from different hacker groups, including Anonymous, who targeted different websites, that of the prime minister included.
The cyber-threat landscape has changed at a rapid pace lately and governments can no longer rely on professionals that are not integrated in a structure whose sole mission is fighting cybercrime and digital incidents.