The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched a new SGD $30m ($21.9m) grant to support the development of local cybersecurity capabilities.
This new Cybersecurity Capabilities Grant will be deployed to reinforce the cyber resilience of Singapore’s financial sector and help financial institutions enhance their systems.
Capital is will go towards the development of financial institutions’ cybersecurity functions which includes security operations, cyber threat surveillance and intelligence gathering, computer forensics, malware research and analysis, and cyber threat hunting.
The grant will co-fund up to 50 per cent of qualifying expenses, capping at SGD $3m. It will help financial institutions establish global or regional cybersecurity centres in Singapore and help them expand through local talent.
MAS is also using the grant to encourage Singapore-based financial institutions to foster their local workforce via cybersecurity-related training programmes. In doing this, it hopes to attract more cybersecurity professionals and broaden the local capabilities.
The grant is being funded by the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI), which was established by MAS in 2015. Its goal is to support innovation in Singapore’s financial sector, and to date, MAS has supplied SGD $225m to the FSTI.
MAS chief cyber security officer Tan Yeow Seng said, “The Singapore financial sector has made significant progress in recent years in building up cyber resilience and managing cyber risk.
“But the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve and we have to constantly strengthen our cyber capabilities. The Cybersecurity Capabilities Grant will support financial institutions in advancing their cybersecurity technology and manpower needs.”
Applications for the grant are open to financial institutions.
MAS has made a couple of moves in the past couple of months to support local developments. Most recently, it proposed the launch of a new regulatory sandbox which would enable some FinTechs to be fast-tracked to approval.
