CSA to Invest S$50 million to Uplift Talent, Innovation and Growth in Singapore’s Cybersecurity Sector

1              The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) will invest S$50M to uplift Singapore’s cybersecurity sector, as part of the three year Cybersecurity Talent, Innovation & Growth (Cyber TIG) Plan. The Plan was announced by Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity, Mrs Josephine Teo, at CSA’s Cybersecurity Innovation Day 2023 on 29 September 2023. 

2              Cybersecurity is a critical enabler and growth sector for Singapore’s digital economy.  The Cyber TIG Plan is in line with the two foundational enablers in Singapore’s Cybersecurity Strategy 2021 – “Developing a Vibrant Cybersecurity Ecosystem” and “Growing a Robust Talent Pipeline” – for Singapore’s growing cybersecurity sector. A vibrant cybersecurity ecosystem and robust talent pipeline are critical for protecting Singapore from cybersecurity threats in the longer term. They also strengthen Singapore’s position as a trusted global business hub and provide economic opportunities for Singaporeans and Singapore-based companies.

Growth of the Cybersecurity Sector

3              The growth of Singapore’s cybersecurity market highlights the success of our ecosystem thus far. A 2015 study commissioned by the Ministry of Communications and Information and CSA, and conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), estimated our market size to be about S$570 million that year. A more recent study for CSA, which was conducted by EY-Parthenon, has estimated the market size to have more than tripled to about S$2 billion in 2022. Similarly, the cybersecurity workforce has tripled in six years from 4,000 professionals in 2016 to 12,000 in 2022.

Cyber TIG Plan to support Innovation and step up Talent Development Efforts

4              Increased digitalisation presents opportunities for the cybersecurity sector to grow. To seize these opportunities requires a comprehensive and integrated approach to the three key pillars of Talent, Innovation and Growth, and harnessing synergies across existing and new programmes for greater impact.

5              The Cyber TIG Plan is a comprehensive approach to ecosystem development which consolidates and enhances CSA’s existing talent and innovation initiatives.  It aims to support innovation efforts and companies with potential to develop solutions and internationalise them, in partnership with other government agencies and the industry. It will also increase mid-career conversions into the cybersecurity sector and look at professionalising the cybersecurity workforce. 

6              With ever-evolving cyber threats, there is a need to ensure that Singapore’s cybersecurity workforce continues to meet industry and national security needs. CSA will lead efforts to increase the quality and quality of the cybersecurity workforce. A new place-and-train mid-career conversion programme will be introduced to train more cybersecurity professionals to meet market demand, especially for roles requiring some years of experience. With this, an estimated 100 more cybersecurity professionals will join the workforce every year for the next three years, contributing to the 1,000 professionals needed each year.

7              CSA will also embark on a study and consultations on the feasibility of developing a professional framework that will establish standards for the conduct and competence of Singapore’s cybersecurity professionals. The framework aims to guide individuals through clear career developmental pathways and strengthen the overall quality of cybersecurity professionals in Singapore.  More details on this effort will be announced later this year.

8              CSA will also make available training for non-cybersecurity professionals such as industrial system engineers to acquire relevant cybersecurity skills so that they can take on cybersecurity related responsibilities within their existing roles, and in so doing support their organisational cybersecurity needs. 

New Programme to Encourage Innovation 

9              A new programme, CyberBoost, will be established to help cybersecurity companies to develop, validate and scale their solutions from Singapore. These companies will be supported with training, mentorships, networking opportunities and more, which will help to grow a pipeline of companies to address present and future cybersecurity challenges. 

10             CyberBoost will work alongside the Cybersecurity Industry Call for Innovation (CyberCall) to enable cybersecurity companies to innovate with Critical information infrastructure owners (CIIs) and end-users in Singapore. 

Dedicated Export Programme for SMEs and Start-ups 

11             Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups in the cybersecurity sector often face challenges understanding and gaining access to new markets, as well as acquiring in-market know-how and expertise. CSA will put in place an export programme – CyberGrowth to help local companies learn about cybersecurity needs in overseas markets and identify opportunities for business expansion through webinars and overseas missions.

12             This new initiative to support promising companies in venturing into overseas markets will complement a joint effort by CSA and SGTech on a Cyber Catalogue to showcase the cybersecurity capabilities of Singapore-based companies to potential global buyers seeking Cybersecurity solutions. The Cyber Catalogue is published at www.cyberconnect.com ↗ (opens in new tab) and currently profiles over 100 Singapore cybersecurity companies.

Establishment of the CyberSG TIG Collaboration Centre

13             The CyberSG TIG Collaboration Centre, established by CSA in partnership with National University of Singapore (NUS), will play a key role in achieving the objectives set out in the Cyber TIG Plan. The Centre will enable synergies between cybersecurity talent, innovation, and growth for industry, by serving as a national node to integrate and create relevant programmes for industry and talent development. It will help build a vibrant cybersecurity ecosystem by bringing together industry, academia, individual and government stakeholders to leverage the opportunities posed by digitalisation. 

About the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore 

Established in 2015, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) seeks to keep Singapore’s cyberspace safe and secure to underpin our Nation Security, power a Digital Economy and protect our Digital Way of Life. It maintains an oversight of national cybersecurity functions and works with sector leads to protect Singapore’s Critical Information Infrastructure. CSA also engages with various stakeholders to heighten cyber security awareness, build a vibrant cybersecurity ecosystem supported by a robust workforce, pursue international partnerships and drive regional cybersecurity capacity building programmes. 

CSA is part of the Prime Minister’s Office and is managed by the Ministry of Communications and Information. For more news and information, please visit www.csa.gov.sg.