SINGAPORE - Starhub announced plans on Wednesday (May 18) to build partnerships to grow the local cyber security ecosystem.
The telco provider launched its Cyber Security Centre of Excellence, bringing together industry partners such as Blue Coat, Cyberbit, EY, Fortinet and Wedge Network, and four institutes of higher learning (IHL) including Nanyang Polytechnic and Singapore University of Technology and Design.
They will jointly invest S$200 million over the next five years.
The centre is also supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board.
Its launch was attended by Minister for Trade and Industry Mr S Iswaran who highlighted the government focus on cyber security, one of the growth sectors that the Committee on the Future Economy has been actively exploring. A S$130 million National Cyber Security R&D Programme was launched last year to support this, he noted.
Singapore is also well positioned to capture new opportunities from the growing cyber security industry, said Mr Iswaran at the launch event at Shangri-La hotel.
"Today, Singapore is home to more than 30 leading cyber security solution providers," he said. "End users of cyber security solutions, including companies in the manufacturing and finance sectors, have also established regional cyber security teams in Singapore.
"Our vision is for Singapore to be the cyber security hub for the region, with leadership positions in specific verticals where we have existing strengths, such as the manufacturing and finance sectors. The government is committed to grow this sector by fostering partnerships, catalysing innovation and developing the talent pool."
A key initiative of the cyber security centre is the first-of-its-kind Security Operation Centre to monitor and detect potential malicious data traffic early and perform mitigation.
The centre will tap on the ability of the telco to monitor Internet traffic and deal with threats before they even enter an organisation's security system.
"We are not aware of any telco in the world that provides cybersecurity services before the firewall," said StarHub CEO Tan Tong Hai.
StarHub and NYP have also jointly established a lab on NYP campus to provide hands-on training for students of Cyber Security & Forensics. These students will subsequently have the opportunity to learn directly from experienced cyber security professionals during their internship placements at StarHub or its industry partners.
StarHub is also teaming up with the four IHLs and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) to enhance cyber security training curriculum and programmes, and to collaborate on research and development.
'We want to accelerate the development of a new generation of cyber security solutions that can better address market needs," said StarHub's Mr Tan.
