MAS panel discusses strategies for Singapore's cyber resilience

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) set discussions in motion last week as part of the group's plans to enhance the cyber resilience of Singapore's financial sector.

The meeting brought together members from the MAS's Cyber Security Advisory Panel (CSAP), who talked about regulatory guidance, supervision, surveillance, information sharing and capability development.

They agreed that cyber resilience can only be obtained through strong basic cyber hygiene practices, and it was important that boards and financial institutions were competent in these areas. This would allow effective oversight of cyber risk management.

CSAP members also talked about the importance of penetration testing, including the use of 'red teams'. Red teams are ethical hackers who continuously test for weaknesses across an organisation's people, processes and technologies.

"It was a rich and engaging discussion.  The meeting provided MAS an opportunity to validate its strategy for strengthening cyber resilience in the financial sector and to identify areas where we need to do more.  We are grateful to CSAP members for their sharp insights and helpful suggestions," comments meeting chair and MAS managing director Ravi Menon.

CSAP members agreed that data analytics and machine learning are key ways to make use of the huge volumes of information that is collected as part of cyber threat monitoring and reporting.

Financial institutions must also be open to sharing information about cyber incidents and developments in a timely manner.

"The creation of the CSAP is a laudable initiative by MAS. The Panel brings together distinguished individuals from around the world, with a rich and diverse range of experience and expertise in the cybersecurity, banking and finance domains. The quality insights and ideas generated will certainly boost our collective efforts to augment the cybersecurity posture of Singapore's banking and financial sector," comments Cyber Security Agency of Singapore chief and CSAP member David Koh.

The CSAP also met with members from the Association of Banks in Singapore's Standing Committee on Cyber Security. The committee comprises CISOs from key financial institutions. The meeting discussed technological developments in the financial sector such as FinTech and cybersecurity challenges in the industry.

The CSAP meeting included: Valerie Abend - managing director, Financial Services North America Security - Global Cyber Regulatory lead, Accenture Security; Keith Alexander - founder and CEO, IronNet Cybersecurity; Adrian Asher - Group CISO, London Stock Exchange Group; David Koh - Chief executive, Cyber Security Agency of Singapore; Vincent Loy, partner, Financial Crime - cyber leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers Risk Services; Cheri McGuire - Group CISO, Standard Chartered Bank; Mr Udi Mokady - Chairman and CEO, CyberArk .

The group will convene in 2018 for its next meeting.