Opening Address by SMS Tan Kiat How at the AiSP Student Volunteer Recognition Programme (SVRP) Awards Ceremony

Principal of Republic Polytechnic, Ms Jeannie Liew

Ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

1. Very happy to join all of you here this evening, especially to congratulate and recognise the achievements of many of our award recipients. All of you worked hard and fully deserve this recognition. I also thank the Association of Information Security Professionals (AiSP) for organising today’s event. 

Our cyberspace is fraught with challenges

2. As you all know, cyber threats are escalating in scale, sophistication and impact at a very unprecedented rate.

a. Last year, we have seen a surge in malware-enabled scams targeting Android users in Singapore. In 2023 only, this led to at least $34.1 million in losses. Fortunately, through the hard work of many partners, administrators, agencies, police, as well as many cybersecurity professionals, we have helped to control the situation and malware-enabled scams have since fell from over 1,800 reports for the whole of 2023, to 95 cases in the first half of 2024. So, things are better but we cannot rest on our laurels.

b. Cybersecurity threats are getting more and more sophisticated, and intensified by the use of emerging technologies, especially generative AI, or what we know as Gen AI. 

3. In the face of these evolving threats, good cybersecurity is fundamental to safeguard our digital economy, to safeguard our society, our way of life. 

4. And at the heart of cybersecurity is really people – our cybersecurity professionals. We have seen a strong growth of cybersecurity professionals over the years. The cybersecurity workforce in Singapore has grown from 4,000 in 2016 to 12,000 in 2022. In 6 years, we saw a three fold increase in the number of cybersecurity workforce. And there are still good opportunities for those who are keen to pursue a career in cybersecurity.  

5. There is still a demand and supply gap, as we expect the demand for cyber talent to keep growing at around 6 to 9% per year. Jobs such as security and threat analyst, vulnerability assessment and penetration tester, and security architect and engineer, will continue to be in high demand. Therefore, what we want to do is to ensure and continue to nurture cybersecurity talents and focus our minds on providing opportunities for those who are keen to pursue a career in cybersecurity. How are we doing so?

We are working hard to develop multiple pathways for those who are keen to pursue a career in this field. 

Let me share some things that we are doing. 

Enhancing career opportunities 

6. First, we are enhancing career opportunities. The cybersecurity career gap is a two-fold challenge. On the one hand, organisations continue to face challenges in hiring talent and may not be familiar with the available government or industry-led programmes and initiatives that can help meet their manpower needs. On the other hand, individuals who are keen to pursue a career in cybersecurity, may not be aware about the different programmes out there that they can partake in. 

a. So to address this gap, I am pleased to share that we are launching the Cybersecurity Education and Learning Guidebook. This is developed by CSA with input from other government agencies, industry, professional bodies, and academia. This guidebook serves as a practical resource for anyone interested to be part of the cybersecurity ecosystem. Whether you are a student, a recent graduate, or considering a mid-career switch, this guidebook outlines cybersecurity programmes and initiatives to help you kickstart and progress in your cybersecurity journey. For employers, it highlights talent programmes to meet your business and manpower needs. Educators will find useful resources to support your students in pursuing careers in cybersecurity. Students can look forward to learning about the various development programmes to advance your skillsets. This guidebook will be free to download online on CSA’s website. I encourage all of you  to check it out, and I am confident you would find some gems and useful tips [and] initiatives that will benefit you, regardless of whether you are a student, employer [or] lecturer, there’s something there for everyone. 

Creating opportunities in education

7. Second, what we are doing to create more opportunities in education is at the heart of what we are doing – to nurture the next pipeline of cybersecurity professionals and talent. 

8. This is why we collaborate closely with our schools on initiatives such as the SG Cyber Youth Programme, which provides opportunities for students to explore cybersecurity. One key initiative under the SG Cyber Youth Programme is the Youth Cyber Exploration Programme or YCEP (pronounced “why-sap”), I think many of you would be familiar with YCEP. The YCEP, launched in 2018 and supported by CSA, is a bootcamp organised by five local polytechnics to inspire secondary school students towards cybersecurity careers. This year, close to 260 students have taken part in YCEP, with top teams selected from their schools to compete in our annual Central Capture-the-Flag competition. More than 90 students have emerged as YCEP finalists to participate in the Central Capture-the-Flag competition.

9. Our institutions are actively working to improve learning and trainings in schools. So today I am very happy to witness the MoU signing between Republic Polytechnic (RP) and AiSP which will help to foster more collaborative initiatives that enable the learning and professional development of RP students and staff. This partnership will open doors for various programmes, including internships, Final Year and Capstone Projects, and staff attachment to our work industry partners. Through these efforts, we hope to contribute to a more thriving cybersecurity ecosystem, and it’s something I hope that more students and staff will avail themselves to these resources.

Enriching Experiences

10. Lastly, we talk about creating more pathways for students as well as people who are interested in career switches. I think one important aspect of this is about how we are, each of us in different roles, contributing back to the community. Especially for many of you here with cybersecurity skills sets and competencies, you have a lot of give back to the community. 

11. So I am very heartened that every year, organised by AiSP and supported by CSA, the Student Volunteer Recognition Programme, or SVRP, encourages volunteerism among our students while holding their interests and capabilities in cybersecurity. To me, this is a win-win collaboration for students – you get to hone your skills, do things in the cybersecurity ecosystem. At the same time, it benefits many of our fellow Singaporeans, many of them in your community. The SVRP Award recognises the contributions of many of our volunteers. And this year we saw a record-breaking 456 nominations, with award recipients increasing by over 70%, from 135 last year to 236 winners. 

a. Among them is Elton Tay, a Gold Award winner for the second time and he was also The Cybersecurity Awards 2024 Student Category Winner this year. He mentors aspiring cybersecurity professionals to cultivate their interest and build their skills in the field. His passion for sharing knowledge and empowering others sets a wonderful example for those looking to make a meaningful impact.

b. Another inspiring example is Marcus Tan, currently the President of Nanyang Polytechnic Infosec special interest group, who uses his volunteer work to bridge the gap between academic learning and industry needs. Through technical workshops, he equips students with practical skills and expertise needed for internships and future careers. 

12. So congratulations to Elton and Marcus. I hope that their example inspires many others to follow in their footsteps, to make meaningful difference and contribution to the community. 

13. It is not just about building our cybersecurity ecosystem through multiple pathways and bring different partners together, but each of us play our part to as part of the cybersecurity community to give back to society and to others, to strengthen cybersecurity in Singapore, as we support the next phase of digital transformation, creating new opportunities for everyone. 

14. So on that note, I would like to thank RP and AiSP for today’s event, for hosting us. To all the award recipients, congratulations, job well done, fully deserved. And for many other who are keen to pursue a career in cybersecurity, there are many opportunities. And I thought I should end off by saying that, you know, cybersecurity is [an] exciting job, exciting opportunity, but it is also hard work. It’s 99% perspiration as well, hard work, and a lot of unglamorous parts of the job. You have to reskill yourself, retool yourself along the way because the threat actors and the bad actors that you are dealing with, are also not resting on their laurels. They are upgrading themselves. So you, as a cyber defender, you are playing an important role in securing our cyberspace. You have [to put in] the hard work to reskill yourself too. Having done so, putting [in] the perspiration, putting in the hard work, I can assure you it’s a meaningful career, purposeful job and something that’s very much valuable. And exciting opportunities I believe await all of you. 

Conclusion

15. So on that note, congratulations and I look forward to your future contributions to the cybersecurity ecosystem. Thank you very much.