Singapore's cybersecurity skills shortage: Why it matters

Singapore's cybersecurity skills shortage: Why it matters
By Linette Lim  Posted 14 Oct 2016 15:51 Updated 14 Oct 2016 16:00

SINGAPORE: In his speech launching Singapore’s national cybersecurity strategy earlier this week, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned of cyberattacks and threats “becoming more frequent and sophisticated, with more severe consequences”.

He pointed to how a cyberattack on the power grid in Ukraine last December left many Ukrainians without electricity for hours, and how hackers used malware to withdraw more than US$2 million (S$2.77 million) from ATMs in Taiwan in July this year. Closer to home, he said that there have been attacks on government networks and on the financial sector.

According to a 2014 report from Center for Strategic and International Studies, cybercrime costs Singapore an estimated S$1.25 billion annually.

Yet there is a decidedly acute shortage of IT security specialists that can be engaged to help fend off such online threats.

According to Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, there were 15,000 vacancies in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector last year, unchanged from 2014. More than two-thirds of these vacancies, he said, were for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) or technical specialists in areas such as development, network and infrastructure, cybersecurity and data analytics.

Additionally, 2012 data from the Economic Development Board (EDB) showed that just 0.8 per cent of Singapore’s 144,300 ICT workers were IT security specialists, with a particularly acute shortfall in the middle and senior tiers.

MANPOWER GAP HINDERING CYBERCRIME FIGHT

This is why for vendors like Quann, which hires more than 300 certified security professionals in the region, a global shortage of cybersecurity manpower means fighting cybercrime is proving to be an uphill battle.

“There is a distinct (manpower and skills) gap, and the gap has widened. The proxy for that is the wage growth that we’ve seen in this sector. Wages have gone up quite substantially in the last two to three years. Based on some reports by third-party consultancies, wages are estimated to have gone up by 20 per cent per year, over the last couple of years,” said Quann’s managing director Foo Siang-tse.

According to Mr Foo, increasing digitisation of customer and business records and the proliferation of interconnected devices have resulted in greater avenues for cybercriminals, but “until recently”, educational institutions have not expanded capacity quickly enough to keep pace with demand in the sector.

To address this, part of the national cybersecurity strategy is to boost the cybersecurity profession in a number of ways. This includes instituting clear career pathways, promoting certification, and working with the industry and institutes of higher learning to attract new graduates and convert existing professionals from related fields.

WHAT ARE THE SKILLS NEEDED?

One of these organisations is ISACA, the international professional body formerly known as the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. Its Singapore Chapter says the Government is working with industry groups like theirs to offer training and certification programmes.

“Skills that are lacking now are in the areas of intrusion detection, security architecture and analysis, security incident management, secure software development, incident response and recovery,” said Mr John Lee, President of ISACA Singapore Chapter.

“Singapore is a global financial hub with high-end manufacturing and developed service industry. The need to safeguard against a major cyber breach is paramount to prevent erosion of trust by external stakeholders.”

Among the IHLs, the Singapore University of Technology (SUTD) only opened its doors four years ago. Professor Aditya Mathur, who oversees the university’s Information Systems Technology and Design pillar, said he has seen a rise in student enrollments and a growing number of students picking security classes.

“SUTD is not only offering courses in cybersecurity at the undergraduate level but also conducting outreach programmes aimed at raising cybersecurity awareness among secondary school students,” Prof Aditya added.

TAPPING ON EXISTING TALENT POOL

But it will be some time before these students join the workforce and contribute to the core of local cybersecurity talent. In the meanwhile, Mr Foo says Quann is doing its best to meet the manpower challenge through on-the-job training, or through converting existing IT professionals with adjacent skillsets.

The local company is one of four participating in the Cyber Security Associates and Technologists (CSAT) programme, which equips ICT professionals with three years’ working experience to pick up the requisite skills to switch sectors. The other training partners are Singtel, ST Electronics and Accel Systems and Technologies.

Some business leaders who oversee ongoing efforts to help build up Singapore's cybersecurity manpower pool include Mr Boye Vanell from BAE Systems (top-left); Quann’s Mr Foo Siang-tse (bottom-left); and Microsoft Singapore’s Ms Jessica Tan (right). (Photos: BAE Systems, Quann, Microsoft Singapore).

While Quann partners tertiary institutions like the National University of Singapore, the Singapore Management University, and Ngee Ann Polytechnic to get access to talent, others, like British multinational BAE Systems, aim to build up the cybersecurity ecosystem through collaborating with researchers and helping to incubate startup ideas.

One outcome of its partnership with Nanyang Technological University is a threat operating model designed by postgraduate students, built using BAE System’s tools and techniques.

“You need to create the interest in the industry. You do that by running research programmes, and you do that by bringing niche technology to startup companies to help close the gaps that customers face,” said Mr Boye Vanell, Regional Director of Asia at BAE Systems.

Microsoft Singapore’s Managing Director Jessica Tan, who oversaw the company’s opening of a new Transparency Center and Cybersecurity Center in Singapore this month, told Channel NewsAsia that apart from technical skills, other important attributes for cybersecurity professionals include “a growth mindset, curiosity, learning and resilience".

She said: “What is critical is building an ICT foundation in every student, which they can then extend and apply to every field they pursue, regardless of whether it is in biomedicine, behavioural economics or digital manufacturing, to name a few. ICT will touch every facet of the industry and government.”

According to Ms Tan, given that more citizens’ lives are touched by technology - at home, in schools and in the workplace - the talent pipeline of cybersecurity professionals is “both an economic and security imperative for Singapore”. This implies the difficulty in relying too heavily on foreign cybersecurity professionals to plug the gaps.

The unique nature of the industry also means it is relatively labour-intensive, and there are limits to plugging the gaps with technology like big data analytics.

 “At the end of the day, the person at the other end of the kill chain - the perpetrator - is still a human being. Notwithstanding that fact that we have our own R&D labs, we’re looking at tapping on big data and threat intelligence - if the adversary is human, we need humans on our side,” said Mr Foo.

- CNA/ll

- wong chee tat :)

Foreign varsities still a big draw for students

Foreign varsities still a big draw for students
By Amanda Lee, TODAY | Posted: 22 October 2012 0608 hrs

SINGAPORE: More students from Singapore have been heading to universities in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia in recent years, despite the growing plaudits for the Republic's education system and changes made to jazz up the tertiary sector here.

From 2008 to last year, the number of students from Singapore studying in the UK has grown by between 10 and 18 per cent each year.

This could be due to rising affluence coupled with smaller family sizes, the high quality of education of other countries, the strong Singapore dollar and students growing up in a globalised world, observers say.

The number of students who applied to study at a university in the US rose to 4,316 last year, from 3,039 in 2006.

Students TODAY spoke to said they chose to study abroad as they wanted a new learning experience in a different country.

Although she was offered a place in a local polytechnic after completing her O levels, Jac L chose to enrol in a university overseas.

"I was planning to go to a polytechnic, but it takes three years," said the 19-year-old.

"If I go to Australia, I would only need (to take) one year of foundation and then (I am able to) enter university.

"It is much faster and I don't have to go through the stressful and competitive education (system) in Singapore."

The second-year student at the University of New South Wales also felt that foreign universities are more internationally recognised and employers may view having "exposure" to a different environment as an asset.

Mr Kelly Koh, Director for Education at the British Council in Singapore, pointed out that the duration of studies have bearing on students' decisions.

The typical three-year undergraduate programmes with honours and the one-year master's courses in the UK "have always been an attraction" as they have impact on cost both financial and opportunity cost, he said.

"Other factors include the quality of student support, and even issues like the ease of obtaining visas and possibly post-work employment," he added. - TODAY



- wong chee tat :)

Universities publish grade profiles as guide for course applicants

Universities publish grade profiles as guide for course applicants
By Sufian Suderman, TODAY | Posted: 13 February 2009

SINGAPORE: The days when junior college and polytechnic students engage in the guessing game - will they or won't they get a place in a coveted varsity course - may be over.

For the first time, all three public universities - Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Management University (SMU) - have published their lists of "grade profiles" for A-level students and "grade point average (GPA)" for polytechnic students to help them assess their chances of getting into the various undergraduate courses offered by the universities.

For example, for NUS' 2008 admission exercise, students who were offered places to its law and medicine faculties generally scored 4As for three H2 and one H1 subjects.

The move comes following calls by various quarters in recent years for the universities to be more transparent about their entry requirements.

Students interviewed by TODAY welcomed the publication of the lists - but some wondered if even more information could be released.

Second-year polytechnic student Gerlynn Chan, 18, said: "The universities should have done this a long time ago. However, certain courses like the Mass Communication course from NTU also require you to take several tests and interviews ... so I think they should provide more of such information regarding such aspects."

JC student Chua Han Wee, 19, who is waiting for his A-level results, feels that "grades should not be the only consideration".

"Consistency of a student's performance in co-curricular activities (CCAs) should also be taken into account." he added.

Mr Alan Goh, SMU's director of undergraduate admissions, said the grade profiles are meant to be "an indicative guide". All applicants are assessed on "SMU's holistic selection process, which includes their academic standing and CCA achievements". (here * Ed: Info may change)

An NUS spokesperson said: "The exact requirements will vary depending on the specific course and is ultimately determined by the strength of the applicant pool each year."

The publication of grade profiles has made students such as 18-year-old Khalid Khan realise that they need to study harder if they want to earn a place in the university.

The polytechnic student in media and communication said: "I'm now coming to year 3. This means I've got only a year to get a minimum of GPA 3 to have a higher chance of entering any of these local universities."

For more information, visit the universities' respective websites.

- TODAY/fa

- wong chee tat :)