Celebrating Singapore’s Cybersecurity Stars

It was a night of celebration as six individuals and organisations were recognised for their achievements and contributions to the cybersecurity ecosystem. Selected from over 70 nominations received, the winners received their awards at the inaugural Cybersecurity Awards and Gala Dinner held at the Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre on 23 February 2018. Organised by the Association of Information Security Professionals (AiSP), the event was supported by CSA, as well as seven major professional and industry associations - the Singapore Computer Society, SGTech, (ISC)² Singapore Chapter, ISACA Singapore Chapter, Cloud Security Alliance, itSMF Singapore Chapter and the Law Society of Singapore.

[From L to R] Mr. Alvin Cheng and Mr. Gillad Gil (Custodio Technologies) Pte Ltd; Mr. Jeremy Heng; Mr. Aaron Eilat (Custodio Technologies) Pte Ltd; Dr. Steven Wong – AiSP; Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Cyber Security; Mr. David Koh, Chief Executive, CSA; Professor Yu Chien Siang; Dr. Lim Woo Lip; Mr. Emil Tan; Mr. Eric Goh and Mr. Edward Lim (EMC Computer Systems)

Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Cyber Security, Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim graced the event, which saw the attendance of some 300 guests comprising business leaders, cybersecurity professionals and students.

A total of six awards were given out across three main categories – Professionals, Enterprises and Students. Receiving the awards from Minister Yaacob were:

• Professor Yu Chien Siang, Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer of Quann Asia Pacific, who received the Hall of Fame Award for his ground-breaking work, leadership and dedication to the cybersecurity ecosystem.

  
  

• Dr. Lim Woo Lip, Vice President of Data Analytics and Cyber Security at StarHub, who bagged the Leader Award for his leadership and expertise in the cybersecurity domain.

  
  

• Mr. Emil Tan, Lead at Edgis and Null (Singapore Chapter), who took home the Professional Award for his pro-active role in bringing the local cybersecurity community together and raising cybersecurity awareness for the general public.

  
  

• EMC Computer Systems (South Asia), which was presented with the MNC Award for its significant contributions in strengthening Singapore’s cybersecurity capabilities and spearheading wide-reaching and diverse initiatives which have benefitted the ecosystem and society.

  
  

• Custodio Technologies Pte Ltd, which received the SME Award for bringing cyber R&D best practices and know-how established in Israel to Singapore, while grooming local talent to research and develop innovative home-grown cyber technologies for commercialisation.

  
  

• Mr. Jeremy Heng, a third-year Information Security undergraduate student at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Vice President of the NUS Greyhats, who was awarded the Student Award for his multi-faceted cybersecurity portfolio and active volunteerism in the university scene.

The Awards are a great way to recognise our peers who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment, and who have made significant contributions to the cybersecurity field. CSA is glad to support the Awards to recognise the bright stars who have made an impact. We hope that it will serve to inspire the future generations to similarly come forward and contribute to the cybersecurity ecosystem.

Mr David Koh
Chief Executive, Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA)

In his speech, Minister Yaacob said that these are early days for the cybersecurity sector and that the sector has the potential to exceed S$1 billion by 2020. He emphasised the need to invest in cybersecurity talent and to ensure that professional standards are current and on par with international benchmarks.  This will put Singapore in a stronger position to capitalise on the opportunities in cybersecurity not just locally, but also internationally.