The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced the launch of a new S$30 million Cybersecurity Capabilities Grant to strengthen the cyber resilience of the financial sector in Singapore and help financial institutions develop local talent in cybersecurity.
The Grant, funded under the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI)1, will support the development of advanced cybersecurity functions2 in Singapore-based financial institutions. The Grant will co-fund up to 50% of qualifying expenses, capped at S$3 million, for:
- financial institutions to establish their global or regional cybersecurity centres of excellence in Singapore; and
- financial institutions with key global or regional cybersecurity functions and operations in Singapore to expand and deepen their cybersecurity capabilities locally.
The Grant will also encourage Singapore-based financial institutions to upskill their local workforce through cybersecurity-related training programmes. This will help attract more cybersecurity professionals and expand the local talent pool in the financial sector.
Mr Tan Yeow Seng, Chief Cyber Security Officer, MAS, 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 now open for financial institutions. Interested financial institutions can write to fsdf@mas.gov.sg for more information.
1 FSTI was introduced by MAS in June 2015 to support the creation of a vibrant ecosystem for innovation in the financial sector. MAS has committed S$225 million to the FSTI.
2 Examples of cybersecurity functions that could qualify for the Cybersecurity Capabilities Grant are security operations, cyber threat surveillance and intelligence gathering, computer forensics, malware research and analysis, and cyber threat hunting.
