With many of our daily activities today becoming digital, we are very much dependent on Big Tech’s systems and the data they hold. This is why governments understand the need to work with Big Tech – like Microsoft and Google – to solve the challenges we face in the digital domain.
However, establishing trust between governments and Big Tech can be challenging, notes Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean. “Governments may not necessarily know how best [work with Big Tech] because issues of national security, defence, and social governance have long been the exclusive domain of governments. This is further complicated by the fact that for the vast majority of countries, Big Tech are foreign entities,” he says at the Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW) event yesterday.
He adds: “[Big Tech’s] interests may not always align with public or national interests [as they are] understandably driven by commercial considerations. So, it is important for Big Tech and countries to find respectful and constructive ways to manage policies and regulations that countries may find necessary, but which Big Tech consider unfavourable to their operating and commercial interests.”
Partnerships with Microsoft and Google
Recognising that achieving cyber resilience requires public-private partnerships, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) announced that it will establish separate cooperative efforts with Microsoft and Google on national cyber defence and cybersecurity.
The Memoranda of Understanding will facilitate cyber threat intelligence sharing, joint operations to combat cybercrime and malicious cyber activity, exchanges on emerging and critical technologies such as artificial intelligence, as well as capacity-building efforts.
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“Cyber defence is a team effort. Big Tech plays a key role in shaping our digital terrain and are therefore important partners in cyber defence and cybersecurity. We look forward to working closely with Microsoft and Google to advance our shared mission of building a safer cyberspace for all users,” says David Koh, CSA’s chief executive.
For the partnership with Google, the tech giant and CSA will endeavour to exchange intelligence on malicious activities, incidents, and vulnerabilities. They will also collaborate and facilitate joint investigations on cyber incidents with potential ramifications to the critical infrastructure and systems while working hand-in-hand to take down digital assets used in cyber attacks and digitally-enabled scams.
To ensure cyber defenders can keep up with evolving cyber threats, Google and CSA will commit to enhancing their respective engineering teams’ technical expertise. They will explore avenues to jointly develop and promote technical standards and best practices in trust and safety too.
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Additionally, Google may also support CSA’s efforts in developing policies and industry best practices related to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, and in building capabilities and raising cybersecurity awareness of the industry as a whole. Two specific initiatives that were launched at SICW include the Cloud Security Companion Guides and the CSA-Google hosted Scams and Security Seminar.
“AI has long had a tremendous impact for good on the security ecosystem and leveraging advances in AI will be important for global security and stability going forward. Generative AI will present novel security risks, including misinformation and cyber threats, but will also become the foundation for a new generation of cyber defences through advanced security operations and frontline intelligence, if we are bold and responsible with its development and regulation. Today, Google is proud to have the opportunity to deepen its commitment to building greater cyber resilience in Singapore by partnering with CSA through joint expertise and threat information sharing,” says Michaela Browning, vice president of Government Affairs and Public Policy for Asia Pacific at Google.
