Telco sector a 'high-value target' for cyber attacks, S'pore cannot slow down adoption of AI: Shanmugam

Singapore cannot slow down the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) despite the prevalence of cybersecurity threats that involve AI, said Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam.

Doing so would make the nation less competitive and even more vulnerable, he said, adding that instead, Singapore must concurrently become better at defending itself against AI threats while becoming experts at using AI for its own purposes.

AI-enabled threats

Speaking at a media doorstop on May 9, Shanmugam said Singapore has come under sophisticated cyber attacks by advanced persistent threat actors (APTs) recently, some of which are state-linked.

When asked how concerned Singaporeans should be about such threats, he called it a "serious issue for Singapore".

"They can steal sensitive data, they can attack your essential services, they can play havoc with your systems," he said.

Frontier AI, a new class of technology considered the most advanced AI model today, "is now going to help them", Shanmugam added.

It enables threat actors, even less skilled ones, to attack faster, cheaper and at scale, he explained.

Nonetheless, Shanmugam said that Singapore is working with partners who have direct access to Mythos, a form of frontier AI developed by Anthropic, to understand the implications and implement measures to ensure stronger cyber defences.

"We will do what's necessary. We know what needs to be done urgently to strengthen our cyber defences, and we are taking the steps," he said.

Advisory issued to telcos

There is an urgent need for owners of critical information infrastructure (CII) to urgently raise their cyber security posture "at the board level", said Shanmugam.

The telco sector is a "high value target" for attackers.

As such, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has issued an advisory to Singapore's telco services to reinforce the urgency of the matter.

It includes "guidance on measures that they can take, for example, including using AI themselves for cyber security, updating risk management plans, and the risk management plans must account for AI enabled threats," he said.

However, Singapore cannot slow down the adoption of AI in this time, said Shanmugam.

 "That makes no sense, right? That will make us less competitive and even more vulnerable...

First, we have to become better in defending ourselves against AI threats, and second, we must ourselves become experts at using AI for our own purposes."

"The government agencies, including CSA, are all working on this, both themselves and together. They are building and experimenting with our own AI tools," he said.