Opening Address by Minister of State Mdm Rahayu Mahzam at CyberSG Innovation Day 2026 on 10 November 2026

Distinguished guests,

Partners and colleagues,

1. Good afternoon. It is my pleasure to welcome all of you to CyberSG Innovation Day 2026.

WHY SINGAPORE NEEDS CYBERSECURITY INNOVATION

2. Technology is changing how we live and work. AI is helping businesses improve their services, make better decisions, and achieve what was not possible just a few years ago. These are opportunities we should embrace.

3. But as we adopt new technologies, we must also be prepared for new risks. Malicious actors are using AI to make cyberattacks more sophisticated, and to launch them at greater speed and scale. At the same time, new technologies such as agentic AI are creating new security challenges that we are only beginning to understand.

4. The consequences of cyberattacks can be very real.

a) Just last week, hackers targeted the refrigeration systems of supermarkets across Europe. By remotely raising the temperatures of fridges and freezers, they caused large amounts of food to spoil and disrupted businesses.

b) Such incidents remind us that cybersecurity is not just about protecting systems, but also the essential services that people rely on every day. And with AI making sophisticated attacks easier to carry out, even less-skilled attackers may be capable of causing serious disruption in our increasingly connected world.

5. The solutions that protect us today may not be enough for the challenges of tomorrow. We therefore need to continually innovate by developing new approaches and capabilities to keep pace with emerging threats.

6. For Singapore, innovation does not mean developing every cybersecurity solution ourselves. As a small country, we must be pragmatic and continue to draw on the best ideas and technologies from around the world.

7. But where existing solutions do not adequately address our security and operational needs, we must have the expertise and capabilities to develop solutions of our own.

8. We have made good progress in building an ecosystem that brings together Government, industry and academia. To build on these foundations, we will focus on three areas: developing leading-edge capabilities, translating innovation into real-world adoption, and helping promising companies grow and compete internationally.

DEVELOPING LEADING-EDGE CAPABILITIES

9. First, we must innovate ahead of emerging threats, not simply respond to them.

10. This means looking beyond today’s cybersecurity challenges and investing in capabilities that Singapore will need in the years to come. AI security and post-quantum cryptography are two such areas, where technological developments are creating new challenges and existing solutions may not yet be sufficient.

11. We have laid strong foundations for this work. Since 2023, the CyberSG R&D Programme Office, or CRPO, has funded 23 research projects worth approximately S$44 million. It has also supported seven spin-off companies that have incorporated in Singapore.

12. Looking ahead, we want to encourage more ambitious innovation. This means tackling more difficult problems, experimenting with new approaches, and being prepared to learn from setbacks.

13. AI security is one such area where local companies are breaking new ground. As organisations deploy increasingly autonomous AI agents, they will need new ways to understand and manage the risks from interactions between these agents and other systems.

14. CloudsineAI, a local company supported by the Talent, Innovation and Growth Collaboration Centre, or TIG Centre, is developing a platform that maps how AI systems interact and identifies potential attack paths. Such tools can be used by organisations to identify AI risks and vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

15. Our aim is not simply to develop more technologies, but to build the capabilities that will help Singapore anticipate and address emerging cybersecurity challenges. Not every idea will succeed. But by learning quickly and building on what works, we can develop the capabilities needed to stay ahead of evolving threats.

TRANSLATING INNOVATION INTO REAL-WORLD ADOPTION

16. Second, innovation must start with real problems and lead to solutions that work.

17. Developing a promising technology is one thing. Turning it into a solution that organisations are willing and able to deploy is another. This requires innovators to understand operational challenges, practical constraints, and what customers actually need. We therefore need closer collaboration between innovators and end-users, so that solutions are developed with real operational needs in mind from the outset.

18. Take Protos Labs, a local cybersecurity company and CyberCall recipient. Working with NTU and a public-sector partner, it developed NEXUS, a platform that combines risk assessments with threat intelligence to help organisations identify and prioritise cyber risks. The same public-sector partner is now implementing NEXUS.

19. This illustrates the value of involving end-users early in the innovation process. By working together to define problems and develop solutions, researchers and companies can create technologies that are more relevant and more likely to be adopted.

20. We want to make such partnerships more systematic. To this end, the TIG Centre has established the CyberSG CISO Advisory Committee, bringing together cybersecurity leaders and experts from industry, academia and Government.

21. The Committee will help startups identify unmet cybersecurity needs, connect with potential users, and explore opportunities to test and refine their solutions. Importantly, we want end-users to help shape the problems that innovators set out to solve, rather than simply evaluate solutions after they have been developed.

22. Ultimately, innovation only makes a difference when it is put to use. By strengthening the pathway from research to adoption, we can turn promising ideas into practical solutions that improve cybersecurity.

HELPING PROMISING COMPANIES GROW AND SCALE

23. Third, we want Singapore to be a launchpad for cybersecurity companies that can compete internationally.

24. Developing innovative technologies is only part of the journey. Companies need customers, investment and access to larger markets to build sustainable businesses. This is especially important given Singapore's small domestic market. For cybersecurity companies, building trust is particularly important. Organisations need confidence that new solutions are reliable and effective, especially when protecting critical systems. Opportunities to validate solutions and establish track records with demanding customers can therefore be an important advantage when entering new markets.

25. This is where Singapore can play a valuable role. By bringing together researchers, technology developers and sophisticated end-users, we can provide an environment where cybersecurity companies develop, test and demonstrate their solutions before taking them to larger markets.

a) One example is pQCee, a local post-quantum cryptography company that has participated in CyberCall, CyberBoost and CyberGrowth.

b) Its quantum-safe solutions are now used by critical infrastructure providers, government agencies and financial institutions. It has also secured new funding to grow its team in Singapore and expand internationally.

26. We are encouraged by growing private-sector confidence in our cybersecurity ecosystem. The Government has committed S$50 million to the TIG Centre, while industry stakeholders have invested approximately S$150 million in companies supported by the Centre to date.

27. Government support can help catalyse innovation, but a thriving ecosystem cannot depend on Government funding alone. We need investors, industry partners and customers who recognise the value of promising new solutions and are prepared to support their development and adoption.

28. We will also continue helping local companies build connections overseas. Through CyberGrowth, the TIG Centre has supported firms at the RSA Conference in San Francisco and the AIBP Conference in Jakarta, connecting them with potential customers, investors and partners.

29. Closer to home, ASEAN’s growing digital economy presents significant opportunities. With negotiations on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement concluded, the agreement is expected to facilitate more cross-border digital activity in the region. As this grows, so too will the need for trusted and secure digital systems.

30. We want Singapore to be a place where local companies can build strong foundations before expanding internationally, and where international companies can work with local partners to develop and validate solutions for the region.

CONCLUSION

31. Our ambition is to build Singapore into a vibrant and trusted hub for cybersecurity innovation – a place where researchers, companies and end-users come together to tackle difficult security challenges, where promising ideas become practical solutions, and where successful innovations can make an impact across the region and beyond.

32. Achieving this requires all of us to play our part. Researchers must push the boundaries of what is possible. Companies must turn ideas into useful solutions. Industry partners and end-users must be willing to test new approaches and create opportunities for adoption. And the Government will continue bringing the ecosystem together and supporting its growth.

33. Ultimately, our success will not be measured simply by how much research we fund or how many companies we support. It will be measured by the cybersecurity problems we solve, the capabilities we build, and the resilience we strengthen.

34. CyberCall reflects this spirit of partnership, bringing industry challenges together with promising new solutions. My congratulations to this year’s awardees. I look forward to seeing your innovations develop and make a meaningful impact.

35. I thank all of you for your participation and contributions, and wish everyone a fruitful CyberSG Innovation Day. Thank you.