Singapore's Port Authority Opens New Cybersecurity Center

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has opened a new cybersecurity operations center, which will be housed and operated by private contractor ST Engineering. 

The objective of the new center is to strengthen Singapore’s cybersecurity readiness through early detection, monitoring, analysis and response. According to the MPA, the center will conduct 24/7 monitoring and correlate data activity across all of the port's critical information infrastructure.  It will have the capability to detect anomalies and cyberattacks by analyzing activities in the IT environment and to respond to the cybersecurity incidents.

“Cyber threats come in many forms and have been rising steadily across the globe. As the world’s busiest transhipment hub, it is important that we safeguard our maritime and port critical infrastructure to prevent a major disruption to port operations and delivery of services," said Niam Chiang Meng, chairman of the MPA.

MPA is also setting up several additional cyber initiatives. It has worked with the Singapore Maritime Institute and local institutes of higher learning to launch a cybersecurity research program focused on the protection of shipboard systems.

It has also collaborated with the Singapore Shipping Association and Singapore Polytechnic to develop a one-day “Maritime Cybersecurity (Intermediate) Training Course” for maritime personnel to enhance their knowledge in managing cyber threats and challenges. This new course builds on an existing basic training module, and will be rolled out in first half of next year.

MPA also intends to use the framework of the Port Authorities Roundtable and other partnerships as the basis for a cybersecurity information-sharing network. The network aims to enhance situational awareness of cyber threats and incidents and to collaborate on cybersecurity initiatives for the maritime sector.