CHAPTER 3 SINGAPORE’S CYBERSECURITY STRATEGY – DEVELOPMENTS IN 2018 FEATURED TOPIC PILLAR THREE: DEVELOPING A VIBRANT CYBERSECURITY ECOSYSTEM INNOVATION CYBERSECURITY ECOSYSTEM @ BLOCK71 ENCOURAGING INDUSTRY INNOVATION AND BUILDING ADVANCED CAPABILITIES THROUGH R&D CSA works with Government agencies, universities, research institutes, and industry to encourage innovation for next-generation solutions to meet the needs of local and international markets. Efforts in 2018 included: a. Lean LaunchPad Programme (LLP) Cybersecurity Track. CSA and the National Research Foundation (NRF) supported the LLP Cybersecurity Track, a 10-week experiential learning programme to equip cybersecurity researchers and young start-ups with the necessary networks, tools, and market validation to bring their inventions to market. b. Industry Call for Innovation. To catalyse the development of innovative cybersecurity solutions and adoption by end users, CSA initiated an Industry Call for Innovation in 2018. CSA collaborated with industry14 to consolidate their cyber needs into challenge statements. The Call drew more than 70 proposals from industry solution providers to develop solutions for 10 challenge statements. c. Establishing National Satellites of Excellence (NSoEs). Anchored in local universities, the NSoEs were established to build and consolidate local research strengths in domains of national interest. Their research focuses on Trustworthy Software Systems, Mobile Systems Security & Cloud Security, and Design Science and Technologies for Secure Critical Infrastructure. d. Singapore Common Criteria Scheme. Singapore attained the status of a Common Criteria15 Certificate Authorising Nation in January 2019. With this, local developers need not send their product overseas for certification, saving time and costs. This increases the potential of ITsecurity products produced in Singapore for export, strengthens Singapore’s competitiveness in the global cybersecurity market, and attracts global evaluation and testing laboratories to base their operations in Singapore. e. National Cybersecurity R&D Programme (NCR). Together with NRF, CSA chairs the NCR to fund projects 16 that seeks to improve the trustworthiness of cyber infrastructure with emphasis on security, resilience, and usability. Examples of funded projects include SecureAge-NUS’s advanced anti-malware solution using deep learning, and Scantist-NTU’s smart binary-level vulnerability assessment for cyber-attack prevention. 14 They include Ascendas-Singbridge, PacificLight Power, Singapore LNG Corporation, Singapore Press Holdings, and SMRT Corporation. 15 The Common Criteria product assurance certification, or ISO/IEC 15408, is the de facto standard for cybersecurity product certification around the world. 16 In 2018, the NCR secured additional S$50 million of funding till 2020 to focus on four areas – cloud security, cyber forensic and assurance, applications security and edge computing, and artificial intelligence for cybersecurity. 40 A participant pitching his ideas to a panel of cybersecurity experts and representatives from investment spaces at the ICE71 Inspire programme in July 2018. Source: ICE71. In March 2018, CSA and the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) supported the establishment of the Innovation Cybersecurity Ecosystem at Block71 (ICE71), for three key programmes: 1. ICE71 Inspire – A bootcamp targeting the academia and industry to deepen appreciation for entrepreneurship, provide networking opportunities, and enable potential entrepreneurs to get valuable insights from cyber and innovation experts. 2. ICE71 Accelerate – An accelerator programme for early-stage start-ups to gain access to talent, mentors, funding and local ecosystem events. 3. ICE71 Scale – To provide access to complimentary working space, testing facilities, regional markets and corporate support services for start-ups. In less than a year, ICE71 has organised a total of 40 events and reached out to more than 50,000 members of the public. Its programmes have also engaged some 200 mentors who have helped guide the start-ups in their go-to-market strategies. The Call provides an excellent platform for us to share with innovators and solution providers the challenges facing our sector, and for all of us to work together to strengthen the country’s capacity to address growing cybersecurity threats. – Mr Chong Nai Min, Vice President, Information Technology at Singapore LNG Corporation (SLNG), on CSA’s Industry Call for Innovation 41