Darktrace Commentary in Response to DPM Teo’s Speech at Singapore International Cyber Week and Announcements at SWITCH

Attributed to Sanjay Aurora, Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, Darktrace

Business today is borderless. With complex IT networks spanning multiple geographies and environments – from physical, virtualized, and cloud, through to IoT and industrial control systems, organisations’ cyber defence is only as strong as their weakest links. ASEAN’s commercial success is therefore not only dependent on member states’ close trade collaboration, but also on the ability to collectively bolster its organisations’ cyber resilience.

It is encouraging to see Singapore take the lead in training cyber experts through the planned ASEAN Cyber Capacity Programme and new academy. Combining greater technical expertise with the National Cybersecurity R&D Programme’s investment in advanced technologies, such as machine learning, will position Singapore and ASEAN at the forefront of cyber security in the years to come.

However, the human element is only one piece of the puzzle. Organisations simply don’t have enough manpower to pour through copious data or log files, day-in, day-out, and stop every genuine threat. Given this reality, and the growing need to protect national security, critical infrastructure and smart cities, the future of cyber security belongs to technology.

The government’s substantial investment in machine learning R&D is testament to the fundamental power of AI for cyber security. AI will play a critical role in augmenting and helping human security teams stay proactive in the face of a rapidly-evolving threat landscape. This new class of technology can detect and autonomously respond to threatening anomalies in seconds, empowering organisations to inoculate themselves against threats from within.

Already we are seeing the value in machine learning technology, in Las Vegas, another world-leading smart city, AI helps the government, which only has three technical officers, effectively handle cyber security for a city with more than 630,000 people, 3,000 public sector employees and thousands of online devices, including IoT. With AI handling the most time- and labour-intensive aspects of its cyber security, the security specialists can focus on the most pressing security priorities. This is the new global vision for cyber security.

For ASEAN to further strengthen its cyber resilience, governments and enterprises will need to continue to embrace AI more widely, and build trust in its capabilities as a force multiplier to security teams.