Singapore, Oct. 17, 2023 ‒ Singapore International Cyber Week 2023 (SICW 2023), Google and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) today announced a strategic collaboration to bolster Singapore’s cyber resilience. This partnership covers four key pillars: threat intelligence sharing, joint operations, technical collaboration, and ecosystem development.
Frontline intelligence sharing to foil cyber attacks
To advance sharing around threat intelligence, Google and CSA will exchange intelligence on malicious activities, incidents, and vulnerabilities. Google Cloud, together with Mandiant, is the leading security services provider that brings together the essential combination of frontline intelligence and expertise, a modern SecOps platform and a trusted cloud foundation – all infused with the power of generative AI. Coupled with CSA’s repository of threat telemetry, the combined cyber defenders of both partners will explore ways to efficiently prevent, detect, and respond to threats such as ransomware attacks and scams.
Joining hands to protect critical infrastructure
The average dwell time for Asia Pacific in 2022 was 33 days, up from 21 days in 2021. Dwell time is the amount of time between an attacker’s successful intrusion into an organization and the discovery of the intrusion. A wide range of cyber attacks also continues to be observed in the industry, ranging from financially-motivated attacks, to cyber espionage attacks and ideologically-motivated attacks that take the form of hacktivism or information operations.
It is crucial that governments employ the best security possible to prevent the loss of services, resources, time, and money that can result from cyber attacks on critical infrastructure. Google and CSA will collaborate and facilitate joint investigations on cyber incidents with potential ramifications to the critical infrastructure and systems, while working hand-in-hand to take down digital assets used in cyber attacks and digitally-enabled scams.
Enhancing technical expertise to empower security teams
The fast-paced cyber security landscape creates a growing need to equip and uplevel cyber security talents with the latest innovations and techniques to combat cybercrime. Earlier this year, Google launched 5,000 Google Cybersecurity Certificate scholarships with CSA to an estimated 100 enterprises at no cost.
Google and CSA further commit to enhancing their respective engineering teams’ technical expertise, and exploring avenues to jointly develop and promote technical standards and best practices in trust and safety.
Ecosystem development to promote cybersecurity awareness
Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility and this joint initiative will help promote regular exchanges between both partners to strengthen the understanding of opportunities, risks, and challenges associated with emerging technologies, such as AI.
Google may also support CSA’s efforts in developing policies and industry best practices related to such emerging technologies, and in building capabilities and raising cybersecurity awareness of the industry as a whole. Two specific initiatives launching at Singapore International Cybersecurity Week 2023 include the Cloud Security Companion Guides and the CSA-Google hosted Scams and Security Seminar.
David Koh, Chief Executive of CSA, said, “Cyber defense is a team effort. Tech companies play a key role in shaping our digital terrain and are therefore important partners in cyber defense and cybersecurity. We look forward to working closely with Google to advance our shared mission of building a safer cyberspace for all users.”
Michaela Browning, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Asia Pacific, Google said, “AI has long had a tremendous impact for good on the security ecosystem and leveraging advances in AI will be important for global security and stability going forward. Generative AI will present novel security risks, including misinformation and cyber threats, but will also become the foundation for a new generation of cyber defenses through advanced security operations and frontline intelligence, if we are bold and responsible with its development and regulation. Today, Google is proud to have the opportunity to deepen its commitment to building greater cyber resilience in Singapore by partnering with CSA through joint expertise and threat information sharing.”
About Google
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Google Cloud, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.
About the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore
Established in 2015, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) seeks to keep Singapore’s cyberspace safe and secure to underpin our Nation Security, power a Digital Economy and protect our Digital Way of Life. It maintains an oversight of national cybersecurity functions and works with sector leads to protect Singapore’s Critical Information Infrastructure. CSA also engages with various stakeholders to heighten cyber security awareness, build a vibrant cybersecurity ecosystem supported by a robust workforce, pursue international partnerships and drive regional cybersecurity capacity building programmes. CSA is part of the Prime Minister’s Office and is managed by the Ministry of Communications and Information.