Singapore’s DBS said it would launch a cybersecurity training programme to help protect the 280,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in the city state, as commercial digital crime soars.
The programme comprises 10 online modules, each covering a different facet of cybersecurity, such as password protection, phishing, digital scams, physical security and social media security.
While digitalisation – which has accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic – has offered advantages SMEs looking to adapt, smaller companies are increasingly exposed to potential cyberattacks.
According to the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), more than two in five crimes committed in Singapore in 2020 were related to cybercrime, with over 16,000 such cases reported. SMEs accounted for almost 40% of these cases, CSA reported.
SMEs make up 99% of businesses in Singapore, employ 70% of Singapore’s workforce and contribute nearly half of the nation’s gross domestic product, Joyce Tee, group head of SME Banking at DBS, said.
“SMEs tend to be more vulnerable to cyberthreats because they lack the time or resources of bigger companies,” Tee said. “We believe we can make the biggest impact by equipping the employees of SMEs with foundational cybersecurity skills.”
Southeast Asia’s biggest lender said it wanted to partner with government agencies, industry associations, and other corporate partners to scale up the programme.
It has already signed up on StarHub, which would provide participating SMEs with a two-month trial of their cybersecurity software.
- George Russell
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