Cyber defences need to be trustworthy, says ST Electronics boss

Singapore

WITH the recent high profile cyber attacks on companies around the world, including Singapore, a lot of time and effort is being spent by companies to install cyber defences in order make their networks "safe".

And yet the question remains: Are these cyber defences dependable and foolproof?

Speaking to The Business Times, Lee Fook Sun, deputy ceo & president, defence business of ST Engineering and president of ST Electronics, noted that today's cyber defences have one significant vulnerability. "We do not know if the cyber security tools can be fully trusted. We also do not know if there are hidden backdoors in them, and so, to be safe, we deploy multiple tools."

Mr Lee, an information technology (IT) industry veteran, added that since cyber security tools cannot be trusted, companies end up employing minders for these tools to make sure that they keep the network secure. "In today's world, you end up using a lot more humans than technology. It is highly unproductive, vulnerable and unsustainable. There are simply not enough cybersecurity professionals in Singapore, and training …