To combat the increasing threat of cybercrime and ramp up cyber information sharing in Asia-Pacific region, a new centre was launched in Singapore today. This new centre will share information among 49 financial institutions in nine countries including Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. The centre was launched on the second day of the ongoing Singapore Fintech Festival.
Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of MAS, said, "Against the backdrop of increasingly complex and sophisticated cyber-attacks, it is even more important for countries to stay engaged, foster stronger relationships and exchange information and expertise freely."
He added, "The Centre’s operations and the regional intelligence reports it produces will help Asia Pacific countries to deal better with cross-border cybercrimes."
The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) Asia Pacific Regional Analysis Centre aims to up the ante against cybercrime. It will provide round-the-clock local and global coverage with threat information sharing, actionable intelligence, as well as tools and resources to respond to incidents.
The centre has been launched by FS-ISAC and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Member institutions of the centre will benefit from regional meetings, regionally-focused monthly threat calls, webinars on hot topics, cybersecurity training and summits, MAS and FS-ISAC said in the press release.
Bill Nelson, president and CEO, FS-ISAC, said, "Information sharing remains one of the most effective ways to stay ahead of cybercrime. Strengthening local intelligence capabilities and cyber-resilience is critical at both a regional and a global level. Strengthening our presence in Asia Pacific helps build the resilience of the entire global financial services sector."
During the launch, FS-ISAC also signed a memorandum of understanding with Temasek Polytechnic to provide internship opportunities for the Polytechnic’s students. Students will be exposed to real world cyber threats to build up their skills in cybersecurity. This initiative supports the financial services industry transformation map initiative to build a local pipeline of specialised IT talent for the financial services sector, including in the area of cybersecurity.
Notably, FS-ISAC is an intelligence gathering and sharing initiative for the financial sector, with over 7,000 members worldwide.
The next FS-ISAC AP Summit will take place in Singapore from July 17 -18, 2018 and will include member meetings, workshops and simulated exercises.
