MAS to raise requirements on cyber resilience in Singapore's financial sector

THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) plans to raise the requirements on cyber resilience in the financial industry, a senior regulatory officer said on Thursday.

Speaking to participants at the Visa Security Summit in Singapore, Tan Yeow Seng, chief cybersecurity officer of MAS, said that the regulator intends to issue a public consultation soon on cyber hygiene.

This will require financial institutions in Singapore to implement a set of fundamental controls to raise their overall level of cyber resilience.

"MAS will be proposing to require all financial institutions to adopt cyber hygiene practices such as strong authentication, controlled use of administrative privileges and proper patch management," said Mr Tan.

"Cyber hygiene plays a critical role in protecting financial institutions' system, sensitive information and customer data by providing a strong foundation in security."