Cyber risks, scams could threaten Singapore's digital progress: Josephine Teo

NEW Covid-19 variants, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the rise of digital scams have created challenges for businesses, with the latter in particular posing a threat to the trust that underpins Singapore's ongoing digital efforts, said Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo on Thursday (Mar 24).

All of the above have disrupted supply chains and the ability to do business, bringing cost pressures as a result, she said. She was particularly concerned about cyber risks such as ransomware attacks and phishing scams, saying: "They threaten the trust that must underpin efforts to move boldly ahead on digital initiatives."

Speaking to business leaders and government officials at the Future Economy Conference and Exhibition (FECE), Teo said that the government remains committed to working closely with businesses to mitigate these challenges.

In her keynote speech, she highlighted 3 areas through which the government will continue to aid companies' digital transformation - ensuring an environment where firms can thrive in the digital economy; sustaining the growth of the digital economy through a robust talent pipeline; and partnering businesses to "co-create a digital future for all".

Noting that the government has rolled out several digital initiatives to boost growth and encourage good cybersecurity in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Teo shared that "industry insights have been instructive in shaping the government support" for these companies.

For example, the government partnered the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) to engage businesses for the Better Data Driven Business programme, which has allowed SMEs to make better use of data and generate actionable insights for their business needs, said Teo.

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FECE is organised by SBF as part of this week's Singapore Apex Business Summit 2022.

By investing in helping businesses understand how to harvest data and how to make good use of such data for improving their business operations, she hopes that companies will be able to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) in the future. 

Teo also noted that the digital economy has created many jobs for Singaporeans, but with the fast and increasing pace of digitalisation, the government's priority is to "nurture a strong pipeline of local tech talent" and to ensure the tech workforce remains relevant and competitive.

The recently announced Bachelor of Science with Honours programme in Applied Computing with a specialisation in financial technology at the Singapore Institute of Technology and the TechSkills Accelerator for the Institute of Technical Education and Polytechnics Alliance are 2 such programmes the government has in place to encourage both fresh graduates and mid-career workers to enter the tech ecosystem, said the minister.

On a larger scale, it is also important that Singapore maintains an open, inclusive and innovation-driven stance for the global digital economy, as it will allow any Singapore business to plug in to opportunities from the rest of the world, said the minister.

"For this reason, we have been pursuing Digital Economy Agreements (DEA) with like-minded partners, which align digital rules and standards, and facilitate greater interoperability between digital systems," she said.

Singapore has signed DEAs with 4 countries, including the UK and Australia.

She also shared that Singapore has contributed significantly to international conversation on emerging areas such as cybersecurity and AI governance.

"This willingness to partner with and learn from others must define our approach to growing the digital economy in Singapore," said Teo.

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