A NEW cyber-incident training programme for Singapore’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was launched on Wednesday (Sep 20) by Singtel, to equip business owners with the knowledge and legal understanding to handle cyberattacks.

The Cyber Elevate Programme is a two-day workshop run by the telco’s Cyber Security Institute. There is no limit on the number of SMEs that can participate, nor on the number of employees each business can send.

Eligible SMEs can join the programme with a fee subsidy of up to 90 per cent, funded by SkillsFuture Singapore. After subsidies, the fee will be a maximum of S$3,000. Larger companies can also participate in the workshop, but they will receive smaller subsidies.

“Most, if not all, SMEs do not have access to the scale, resources or expertise that larger companies may have,” said Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Janil Puthucheary at the programme’s launch, where he was guest of honour.

“But individually, each business is relatively small and that means a relatively small attack surface,” he added.

During the workshop, SMEs’ top management will undergo a cyber-risk assessment audit and receive training on how to establish policies and protect themselves from cyberattacks. They will also be familiarised with Singapore’s data-protection laws.

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Within one year of completing the programme, participants will also be eligible for one-time support from law firm Drew & Napier as well as incident-response company Blackpanda, in the event of a cyberattack.

Some 40 per cent of cyberattacks in the Republic target SMEs, with phishing and ransomware attacks being the most common, said Singtel Singapore chief executive officer Ng Tian Chong, citing data from the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore.

“That’s why we’ve designed this programme with (SMEs) in mind – so that they can be armed with the fundamentals of how to respond and recover when attacked,” he added.

Singtel is onboarding more programme partners, and plans to launch a second phase of training for those who have completed the workshop.

One company that has signed on is Polar Puffs & Cakes, whose chief executive officer Francis Looi noted that cybersecurity measures are “actually to protect other people”, as they prevent a company’s business partners from being targets too.

In time, Looi expects more SMEs to ensure that their business partners have robust cybersecurity measures in place in the course of doing business.

While Polar has never been the target of a cyberattack, robust measures are still needed for such an eventuality, he added.