Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have opened a joint centre that manufacturers and developers can use to test and certify the security of their products.

Figure 1: Singapore Launched new Cyber Security Testing Centre.

Figure 1 shows that Called the National Integrated Centre for Evaluation (Nice), the S$19.5m centre will also conduct research on advanced security evaluation techniques and build up a pool of security evaluation talent.

Nice will be equipped with advanced equipment security evaluators and developers can use to perform evaluation at the highest assurance level.

The centre, which comes on the back of CSA’s efforts to promote security-by-design practices, will also maintain a pool of research and technical staff with the expertise to use the equipment and share their knowledge with other users. [1]

The rise of Internet of Things (IoT) and increasing use of cyber-physical systems has led to the growth of devices and hardware components, such as communication points and sensors.

These components present themselves as potential entry points for hackers and malicious actors. End users have little means to assess if these components are secure and need to rely on independent experts to perform such security evaluation.

NTU Deputy President and Provost Professor Ling San said: The rising threat of cyberattacks makes it vital that institutions, companies and agencies stay one step ahead of cyberthreats. Properly evaluating hardware to ensure that they are designed with security in mind, rather than added on as an afterthought, is the first step in keeping our cyber-physical systems safe.

NTU’s collaboration with CSA to set up NiCE leverages the University’s strengths in areas such as computer science and engineering research and brings together industrial and research expertise in cybersecurity.

The centre will also provide training and education to graduate students and industry professionals, allowing us to upskill and groom an important talent pool in this growing industry. This partnership underscores NTU’s commitment as an academic anchor for industry partners. [2]

As of end-April, more than 200 products had been submitted for labelling under this scheme.To further streamline the labelling process, CSA on Wednesday also unveiled a new initiative, dubbed "CLS-Ready". This would enable security functionalities enabled by CLS-Ready hardware to bypass the need to be tested again at the end-device level. [3]

References:

1. https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252518383/Singapore-opens-security-testing-centre
2. https://cybermagazine.com/cyber-security/singapore-launches-centre-for-cybersecurity-evaluation
3. https://www.zdnet.com/article/singapore-sets-up-cybersecurity-assessment-certification-centre/

Cite this article:

Sri Vasagi K (2022), NTU and CSA Singapore Launches Cyber Security Testing Centre, Anatechmaz, pp. 301