CREST Singapore Chapter Unveils New CREST Examination Facility at Industry Event

From left to right: Professor Loh Han Tong, Deputy President (Academic) and Provost of SIT; Mr David Koh, Chief Executive of CSA; Mr Ian Glover, President of CREST International and Dr Steven Wong, President of AISP and Co-chair of CREST Singapore Working Committee at the CREST Examination Facility.

Chief Executive of CSA, Mr David Koh, was Guest-of-Honour at the CREST Singapore Industry Event held on 28 July 2016 at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). About 300 industry partners, cyber security professionals and representatives from the Institutes of Higher Learning and government agencies attended the event to find out more about the CREST Singapore Chapter and its services. The event also marked the opening of the CREST-accredited Examination Facility at SIT.

The CREST Singapore Chapter was formed by CREST in partnership with CSA and Association of Information Security Professionals (AISP) to introduce CREST penetration testing certifications and accreditations to Singapore. This initiative was developed in collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). The Singapore Chapter is the first CREST Chapter in Asia. Plans are afoot to introduce more CREST certifications and accreditations in areas including Incident Response, Malware Analysis and wider Information Security Architecture in the future.

Mr Koh said, “CSA’s focus is to make Singapore’s cyberspace safe for businesses, individuals and the society at large. To do this, we need strong partnerships with multiple stakeholders across the cybersecurity ecosystem. This partnership between CSA, CREST and AISP will raise the professionalism of our penetration testers and help to enhance the security of Singapore’s cyberspace.”

He also witnessed the signing of an MOU between AISP and SIT at the event. The MOU serves to further collaborations on education, training and certifications in the area of Information Security between the two parties.

After the tea break, Mr Lim Soon Chia, Director/Technology of CSA, and Co-chair of the CREST Singapore Working Committee, delivered a keynote address on the need to enhance the standing of cybersecurity as a profession. Mr Ian Glover, President of CREST International, elaborated on CREST International’s plans for Singapore and the region. Lastly, Dr Wong, President of AISP and Co-chair of the CREST Singapore Working Committee, shared with the audience what CREST Singapore members can expect from the Chapter and details on the application process for CREST certifications. Concluding the half-day event was a Q&A session whereby the speakers addressed queries from the audience.

CE/CSA interacting with penetration testers during the break.

A participant, Ryan Baxendale, a penetration tester from Centurion Information Security said," The establishment of the CREST Singapore chapter brings internationally recognised accreditation of procedures, policies, and an individual's technical capabilities to meet industry demands. This combination of CREST accreditation for organisations and individuals will bring a positive and demonstrable impact to the Singapore market, enabling service providers and individuals to be recognised at the forefront of information security.”