Starting in November, nearly 50,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be able to tap one year’s worth of free cyber-security services to keep out malware in their networks and devices as part of a national digitalisation drive.
The service is offered by Singtel, in partnership with the Infocomm Media Development Authority and Enterprise Singapore.
The telco is one of two new firms to support the Digital Enterprise Blueprint (DEB), a national strategy by the authorities to help companies here transform digitally.
Announced on Oct 7, the Singtel Cyber Protect Programme can detect malicious links and websites in the e-mails and web browsers of the employees of SMEs.
It alerts employees to these malicious links and blocks their access to dodgy sites containing malware.
Such a programme is necessary because cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex to solve as more companies continue to digitalise, said Singtel Singapore chief executive Ng Tian Chong.
“We know that SMEs… are usually resource-scarce,” said Mr Ng, adding that the idea is to make cyber-security simple, accessible and affordable.
By maintaining a database of malicious links and websites, the telco aims to secure business mobile devices and office networks from network-level threats such as phishing links, which can lead to ransomware and malware infections.
