NUS, Singtel launch S$43m cybersecurity lab

CYBERSECURITY is having its moment in Singapore.

The NUS-Singtel Cyber Security Lab, a new research and development (R&D) lab by the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singtel, was officially launched on Monday by Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security.

This comes a week after a similar lab was launched by Catalist-listed security company Secura Group, together with Republic Polytechnic, the University of Glasgow, and the University of Glasgow Singapore.

The S$43 million NUS-Singtel lab will conduct research, and develop capabilities and digital solutions to protect individuals, businesses and public agencies in Singapore from a wide range of cyber threats.

It will be hosted at the NUS School of Computing, and is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore under its Corporate Laboratory@University Scheme.

The scheme supports the setting up of key corporate laboratories via public-private partnerships. The NUS-Singtel lab marks the scheme's 10th lab.

DPM Teo, who is also chairman of NRF Singapore, said at the launch: "A key deliverable of this corporate lab will be increasing our pool of cybersecurity professionals, and raising their capabilities."

The collaboration between NUS and Singtel will host 100 researchers and train 120 new cybersecurity professionals from the undergraduate to postgraduate levels over the next five years.

DPM Teo added that the training will prepare them for employment opportunities not just in Singtel, but also in the public sector and other companies.