Horangi praises Singapore’s initiative on new cybersecurity accelerator programme. In the pursuit of becoming Start-up Nation, Singapore plans to launch its first cybersecurity-centric accelerator programme in April.

The pioneer programme will commence with the support from Singapore’s very own Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) with aims to accelerate start-ups in cybersecurity sectors.

Under the programme, the cybersecurity entrepreneurs have access to a three month stint at a start-up hub, named Innovation Cybersecurity Ecosystem at Block 71 (ICE71). In that hub, the hopefuls will learn pre-accelerator boot camp, accelerator training programme and landing pad for start-ups with Europe-based cybersecurity accelerator Cylon.

“Government support for cyber security is critical to grow Singapore’s regional expertise and cyber security startups like Horangi will benefit from these programs,” said Paul Hadjy, CEO at Horangi Cyber Security (Horangi).

Hadjy told Hackwarenews team that the state top-down approach is essential in supporting the embryonic state of cybersecurity development in Singapore.

In his opinion, the barrier for growth in the cybersecurity security often pointed down to the shortage of talents in the field. Thus, the accelerator programme will allow the startups to gain access to funding as well as the right mentorship to groom talents and expertise.

Besides the lack of talents, Hadjy highlighted that many Southeast-Asia based firms have downplayed the values of cyber security in their overall corporate strategy.

“Many ASEAN companies view cyber security as an IT task and not an overarching business risk,” opined Hadjy.

This oversight causes many decision-makers to set ineffective budget targets for cyber security spending, which in turn leads to myopic, ineffective spending. However, he noted that corporate companies are gradually changing their mindset on the importance of cyber-security.

“Today, organizations in Singapore and other regions are shifting towards a more holistic view of cyber security; where it has become a pressing concern that affects business processes across all enterprises.” concluded Hadjy.

Going forward, he believed that enterprises should engage a third party cyber security company in helping them to analyse their profile and identify system vulnerabilities. Then, the outcome of the analysis can be used to formulate plan to protect key data and assets from breaches.

Content retrieved from: https://hackwarenews.com/horangi-praises-singapores-initiative-new-cybersecurity-accelerator-programme/.