S'pore CIDeX 2025 draws record 250 participants, cybersecurity code to be updated by Q1 2026

Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing highlighted the importance of vigilance, unity of action, and resilience in defending Singapore's cybersecurity on Nov. 12.

Speaking alongside Chan at a media doorstop on the sidelines of the Critical Infrastructure Defence Exercise (CIDeX), Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said that the government is expecting enhanced "oversight responsibility" of Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) and adjacent systems.

The four-day exercise, co-organised by the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), runs from Nov. 11 to 14 at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT).

Over 250 participants from 11 CII sectors attended the exercise, which aims to train and strengthen inter-agency collaboration in detecting and managing cyber threats to relevant CII networks.

Largest number of participants took part in live simulated cyberattacks

Over 250 participants from 35 organisations took part in CIDeX 2025 — the first time the entire spectrum has been represented.

Participants, organised into Blue Teams, defended their digital infrastructure against live simulated cyberattacks engineered by a multi-agency control team from CSA, DIS, the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), GovTech, IMDA, and the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

The exercise tested responses to complex attack scenarios that targeted both Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) networks, including simulated disruptions to power supply, rail operations, and 5G telecommunications networks.

For the first time, Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools were also used to generate potential attack pathways and intrusion vectors.

Private sector partners, such as Singtel, AWS, Google Cloud, and Splunk, also played key roles in shaping the exercise.

They provided technical input to enhance the realism of simulated attacks, and supported a six-day hands-on training programme ahead of CIDeX.

Top photos by Mothership