Singapore has launched its refreshed Cybersecurity Strategy 2026, a five-year plan that puts more weight on defending critical infrastructure, using AI in cyber defence and preparing for quantum-enabled threats. Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam unveiled it at the opening ceremony of the 11th Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW) on 13 October.
The strategy was first launched in 2016 and refreshed in 2021. The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) said the latest version responds to a harder threat environment. Advanced persistent threat actors are increasingly targeting critical infrastructure, frontier AI is changing both attack and defence, and quantum computing could eventually weaken today’s encryption.
In his foreword, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong wrote that “what each of us does affects the security of others”, and stressed shared responsibility.
Four pillars of the cybersecurity strategy
- Defend critical infrastructure: build centralised national capabilities to anticipate, detect and respond to sophisticated threats, and strengthen the ability of critical information infrastructure owners to withstand AI-enabled attacks. Initiatives include a National Cybersecurity Command Centre and Digital Defence Hub, and a Singapore Police Force Cyber Command.
- Secure the wider cyberspace: strengthen upstream protection, such as a national Protective Domain Name Service and minimum requirements for higher-risk Internet of Things devices. The government will also support organisations in raising their security posture and continue public education.
- Strengthen capabilities for AI and quantum: use AI to enhance cyber defence, issue practical guidance on adopting AI systems securely, and accelerate national quantum-safe migration with industry and public agencies.
- Enhance resilience through global partnerships: keep SICW as a convening platform, support cooperation within ASEAN and the Counter Ransomware Initiative, and partner major technology firms to co-develop solutions in AI-enabled cybersecurity, operational technology security and quantum-safe migration.
Ecosystem and workforce enablers
Two enablers support the pillars. The first is to build a cybersecurity ecosystem that makes Singapore Asia’s leading innovation hub for trusted critical infrastructure capabilities. That means taking local capabilities from research to commercialisation and speeding up co-development with academia and industry, including international firms based in Singapore.
The second is the workforce. The government will professionalise cybersecurity roles, deepen skills and broaden the talent pipeline. The infographic accompanying the release lists a national Cybersecurity Professional Accreditation Framework among the measures.
Over the next five years, the government will work with stakeholders to carry out the initiatives, and has invited governments, industry, academia and the wider cybersecurity community to take part.
Other CSA announcements at SICW
CSA also announced an enhanced National Cybersecurity Command Centre with improved threat intelligence, vulnerability detection and faster incident response. A CSA study found that about 81 per cent of respondents said their organisations use AI-enabled cybersecurity tools, and 92 per cent agreed AI-enabled threats will require new skills within the next year.
The accreditation framework starts with a voluntary pilot in the second quarter of 2027, with fees waived during the pilot. CSA and TrendAI will also run the Singapore Cyber Conquest capture-the-flag competition for three years.
