Welcome Address by Minister Josephine Teo at the Singapore International Cyber Week on 12 October 2026

Senior Minister K Shanmugam

Fellow Ministers

Excellencies

Distinguished Guests

Colleagues and friends.

1.    Good evening, and welcome to the Singapore International Cyber Week 2026.

2.    We meet at a time when technologies are advancing rapidly. In particular, AI and quantum are moving at speeds never before seen. AI has become widely used, and many exciting use cases are also being explored with quantum. With AI, users are increasingly able to automate complex tasks and improve productivity. More capable AI agents can also plan, reason and act across digital systems with less human intervention.

3.    Whether we can fully realise the benefits of AI depends less on its speed and scale of adoption, and more on the fundamental question of trust. Can we trust AI tools and systems not to cause us harm?

4.    AI systems can make mistakes, be manipulated, or behave in unintended ways. As they become more deeply integrated with the wider digital ecosystem, we will need greater assurance that they are secure and behave as intended.

5.    However, AI capabilities are advancing faster than our understanding of the risks and our ability to address them. More work is needed on testing, assurance, and safeguards to sustain the trust on which our digital future depends.

6.    Without trust, businesses will hesitate to digitalise further. Citizens will be wary of adopting new technologies. Countries will be less willing to remain open and connected.

The Trust Deficit

7.    Yet there is a paradox. At precisely the time when we need more trust, trust is becoming harder to sustain.

8.    The cyber threat environment is becoming more challenging. Sophisticated actors continue to target critical infrastructure. Singapore experienced this recently with UNC3886’s campaign against our telecommunications sector. Ransomware and cybercrime remain pervasive. AI intensifies the risks by allowing threat actors to move with greater speed and scale.

9.    Trust in the technologies and digital infrastructure we depend on has also come under growing pressure. Countries are increasingly asking whether critical technologies and supply chains will remain secure, reliable and accessible in a crisis. Strategic competition is creating harder choices around technologies, suppliers, standards and interoperability.

10.    As a result, we have a dilemma. Digital connectivity has opened up more opportunities, but we are also more exposed to risks. We are willing to interact more, but find ourselves willing to trust less. The threats we face cross borders more easily, while cooperation across borders is becoming harder.

Why SICW Matters

11.    This is precisely why Singapore convenes SICW. We need platforms where governments, industry, researchers and cybersecurity professionals can come together, especially when the issues are difficult and our viewpoints may diverge.

12.    I am pleased to note that this year’s SICW brings together more senior representatives to be part of this conversation. They come from governments and industry, including frontier AI companies, who are increasingly influential in shaping the digital space.

13.    I want to especially thank Estonia’s Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, Liisa-Ly Pakosta, for joining us this evening. I personally look forward to hearing her insights during the fireside chat with our Chief Executive of the Cybersecurity Agency of Singapore, Gwenda Fong, later this evening.

14.    As a highly digitalised society, Estonia has been at the forefront of navigating the opportunities and challenges of digitalisation. The experience Minister Pakosta shares will no doubt be relevant to us all.

15.    Over the coming days, I hope that at SICW, we can do three things:

-          First, speak candidly about difficult problems;

-          Second, identify practical areas where cooperation remains possible; and

-          Third, turn dialogue into action.

16.    I would also like to put forward a question that I believe is central to a thriving digital future, and that is: “How do we realise the benefits of technology and connectivity while managing the risks that come with them?”

17.    From increasingly autonomous AI and the quantum-safe transition to ransomware groups and Advanced Persistent Threats – these are shared challenges that none of us can address alone. We must therefore commit to working more closely together.

Governments and Industry Must Act Together

18.    Cooperation must extend beyond governments.

19.    Much of the digital infrastructure our economies depend on is built and operated by industry. They can provide unique, and frankly, essential insights on the threat landscape which most governments do not have visibility over.

20.    Therefore, industry must be a partner in securing our digital ecosystem.

21.    This means working together on standards and safeguards, sharing threat intelligence, strengthening operational cooperation – including on incident reporting – and testing new technologies before deployment.

22.    This is particularly important for AI.

23.    As AI systems become more capable and autonomous, greater assurance will be needed when they handle sensitive information, connect to critical systems, or take actions that may have a significant impact. Where necessary, we must ensure human judgement, oversight or control is retained. Ultimately, accountability cannot be outsourced. Least of all, to machines.

24.    Assurance must also continue after deployment. Effective monitoring can surface problems early, while timely reporting of serious incidents can support containment, shared learning and stronger safeguards.

25.    Singapore is already taking steps. Earlier this year, CSA released its Securing Agentic AI Addendum, developed with industry, government and international partners, to provide practical guidance to help organisations secure increasingly autonomous AI systems.

26.    We must also prepare early for risks that lie ahead. This is why CSA is working closely with industry to prepare our critical infrastructure for the transition to quantum-safe systems.

27.    At the same time, we must continue to strengthen the security of technologies which our critical infrastructure depends on today. We are pleased that leading operational technology (OT) manufacturers and technology providers have committed to attain Singapore's Cyber Trust Mark, strengthening the cybersecurity of the technology supply chains that underpin our critical infrastructure.

28.    No government has all the answers or can sees the entire threat landscape. Similarly, no company can secure an interconnected digital ecosystem on its own. Different stakeholders each bring different strengths to the table. This is what makes SICW valuable: all of us are at the table.

Building Trust at Home

29.    This spirit of partnership is also central to how Singapore builds trust in our digital future.

30.    We intend to remain open and connected, and to adopt technologies where they deliver real value, even as the external environment becomes more contested. Our approach is neither blind adoption nor retreat from a technology, but building the safeguards and capabilities to adopt it securely.

31.    Tomorrow, Senior Minister Mr K. Shanmugam will launch the Singapore Cybersecurity Strategy 2026, our updated national cybersecurity strategy. He will say more about the Strategy and the steps Singapore will take to strengthen our cyber defences.

32.    What I can share with you is that partnerships will remain central to our efforts.

33.    This same spirit of partnership will apply when Singapore assumes the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2027. ASEAN is diverse, with 11 member states, but we share a highly interconnected digital future. We will work with our ASEAN partners to strengthen our collective cyber resilience, deepen practical cooperation and capacity building, and work more closely with our industry partners.

Closing

34.    So let me conclude where I began, with the importance of trust. Trust is not built through declarations, but through candid exchanges, competence and consistent action.

35.    SICW gives us an opportunity to speak frankly even when our viewpoints do not align, to find convergence in interests, and to turn dialogue into practical cooperation.

36.    Over the coming days, I hope we will strengthen old partnerships, begin new ones, and build the trust that will allow us to continue working together, including when we disagree.

37.    Thank you, and I wish everyone a fruitful Singapore International Cyber Week 2026.