5/12/2018 – Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has revealed an S$30 million (about US$22 million) cyber security fund aimed at developing local cybersecurity talents and enhancing the cyber resilience in the local financial sector.
Under this scheme, the funds could be used to defray up to 50 percent of qualifying expenses for a financial institution, with a cap of S$3 million (about US$2.2 million).
Financial companies that have established their global or regional cybersecurity centers of excellence in Singapore are eligible to apply for the grant, as are those that run key global or regional cybersecurity functions and operations in expanding their cybersecurity capabilities locally.
Tan Yeow Seng, the Chief Cyber Security Officer of MAS said, “The Singapore financial sector has made significant progress in recent years in building up cyber resilience and managing cyber risk. But the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve and we have to constantly strengthen our cyber capabilities.”
“The Cybersecurity Capabilities Grant will support financial institutions in advancing their cybersecurity technology and manpower needs,”
Funded under the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI), which was introduced in 2015 to encourage innovation in the financial sector, the grant would be used to facilitate the development of advanced cybersecurity functions.
This includes cyber threat security options, cyber threat surveillance & intelligence gathering, computer forensics, malware research & analysis, and cyber threat hunting.
Besides, in hope of further encouraging local financial institutions to upgrade their workforce skill, the grant will also enable local employees to attend cybersecurity-related training programmes.
This will help to attract more cybersecurity professionals and expand the local talent pool in the financial sector, MAS said.
