COI Report – Part VII
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425 42 RECOMMENDATION #7: PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT TO ACHIEVE Ab bHIGHER LEVEL OF COLLECTIVE CYBERSECURITY #VIGILANCE DETECTION #GOVERNANCE
958. A common thread running through the expert evidence is that the occurrence of a cyber attack is inevitable. The ever-increasing scale and sophistication of APTs means that APTs can and will find ways to breach networks and systems. Singapore is particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks for two reasons. First,
the attack surface is large, as our society is highly connected and digitalised. Second, large amounts of sensitive data reside in our servers,
as Singapore is a business, financial,
and healthcare hub, making us a high-value target for cyber threat actors.
959. Recommendations #1 to #6 are essential. Recommendation #7 builds on these recommendations to bring our cyber defences to anew and higher level.
960. The high degree of interconnectivity and the potential risks at the national level make it imperative that there is collective security over our systems. As Gen. Alexander stated,
collective security is key, and the government must be involved in cyber defence, especially against APTs. Dr Lim has also noted that many countries have classified cyber attacks targeting CII as a matter of national security. The Singapore
government has recognised this, and the establishment of CSA was a public commitment to strengthen cybersecurity as a whole.
961. We will discuss four aspects of collective security here a) Sharing of threat intelligence b) Partnering with Internet Service Providers (“
ISPs”); c) Defence beyond borders and
