Singapore CSA to Give 80 Scholarships to Establish OT Security Talent Pool

CSA will Give 80 scholarships to Establish OT Security Talent Pool — The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore will support 80 scholarships to develop a talent pool of operational technology security specialists as a way to defy OT risks. Photo by Stillness InMotion on Unsplash

On Tuesday, July 12, Singapore's minister for communications and technology declared that CSA will fund a scholarship program to foster operational technology (OT) to combat attacks on the country's cyber security system.

Singapore to Tighten Defense Against Cyber Security Attacks

Josephine Teo, Singapore's minister for communications and technology, announced in her speech at the OT Cybersecurity Expert Panel (OTCEP) Forum 2022 today (July 12) that the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) would provide 80 scholarships over the course of three years to the Master of Science in Security by Design program at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

Scholars will have access to some of the most outstanding research, design, and training facilities for cyber-physical systems via SUTD's cyber security research center, which has industrial testbeds to replicate vital infrastructure.

The scholarship grant comes after the OT Cybersecurity Competency Framework, introduced last year, and lists OT security jobs along with the related core competencies and technical abilities. According to Teo, through the framework, they can create better programs to assist the training of cyber security professionals in OT and cyber security.

Teo then laid out the government's strategy for combating OT risks which begins with the cultivation of a talent pool of OT security experts.

The operational technology (OT) systems used in vital industries like healthcare and utilities are the target of an increasing number of cyber security attacks, and Singapore is strengthening its defenses against them.

She also added that the National Center for Assessment and Integration, announced in May, will bring together security assessment ecosystem members to develop a hands-on community, provide cutting-edge technology, and host specialized training sessions.

Puthcheary Said Cyber-Security Experts Must Refresh Their Abilities to Stay up With Hackers in June

On June 24, during the Youth Cyber Exploration Programme (YCEP) Central Capture-the-Flag Competition award ceremony, the Senior Minister of State for Communications Information, Janil Puthucheary, addressed the participant.

Puthcheary said cyber-security professionals must continuously update their skills to keep up with hackers who take advantage of cutting-edge technologies and business models that may tempt consumers to compromise security for convenience.

According to him, threat actors are continuously coming up with new methods to take advantage of emerging digital technologies, infiltrate systems, and steal data, which causes the dangerous environment to change frequently.

YCEP is a program sponsored by CSA and the regional polytechnics to educate secondary school students about the possibilities available in the cyber-security field and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge.

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) organized it, pitting secondary school students' teams against one another to fulfill online tasks. The participants had to use the cyber-security abilities they learned at the YCEP boot camps to complete the objectives.

In his address, Dr. Janil also predicted that as new gadgets, business models, and technologies are developed, so will new cyber-security threats. He also emphasized the value of cooperation in cyber security, especially private-public collaborations.