Brunei’s perspective on navigating the complexities of global digital policies was shared by Minister of Transport and Infocommunications Pengiran Dato Seri Setia Shamhary bin Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Mustapha, as the Minister-in-charge of Cybersecurity representing Brunei Darussalam, during the opening plenary session of the 9th ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Cybersecurity (AMCC) in Singapore, in conjunction with the 9th Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW).
The minister also emphasised the importance of international cooperation in achieving equitable and inclusive digital governance while addressing the potential risks of the misuse and unregulated proliferation of digital technologies.
Pengiran Dato Seri Setia Shamhary participated as a panellist during the high-level panel session on ‘Global Digital Governance: Promise or Pipedream?’ which carried the theme ‘Trust and Security in the Digital Era’.
The 9th SICW was officiated by Singaporean Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean.
The 9th AMCC, held from October 14-17, was chaired by Singaporean Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo, who is also Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity, and saw ASEAN ministers launching the ASEAN Regional Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT).
The ASEAN Regional CERT will strengthen regional coordination for cybersecurity incident response and enhance cooperation on critical information infrastructure (CII) protection, including cross-border CII such as banking, finance, communications, and transportation.
Pengiran Dato Seri Setia Shamhary underscored that the operationalisation of the ASEAN Regional CERT is a crucial step in ASEAN’s effort to mitigate cyber threats, especially with ASEAN member states confronted with increasingly more complex and artificial intelligence-enabled cyber threats.
The minister highlighted the importance of the ASEAN Regional CERT Taskforce in consolidating existing efforts into ‘playbooks of good practices’ to be shared across the region.
The lessons learnt and experiences gained by ASEAN member states over the years will significantly enhance capacities in incident response, crisis management and post-incident recovery.
Recent major cyber incidents has reinforced the need for closer collaboration among ASEAN member states, allowing for quicker and more effective responses to threats, especially those that cross borders.
The collaborative approach extends to Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (CIIP), where promoting CIIP among national CERTs will help ASEAN member states meet their commitments under the Regional Action Plan for implementing cybersecurity norms.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the conference, the minister also held bilateral meetings with Malaysian Minister of Digital Gobind Singh Deo; and United States (US) Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy Nathaniel C Fick and the delegation from the US Chamber of Commerce.
Discussions centred on exchanging views and best practices in cybersecurity, with a focus on current regional development, key challenges and areas of mutual interest to strengthen bilateral relations.
The minister also led working visits for the National Cyber Security Committee members to the GovWare Conference and Exhibition 2024 and to the offices of major social media platforms based in Singapore, including Meta, Microsoft, as well as organisations including Open Government Product Singapore, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and other cybersecurity related companies.The delegation also visited the Anti-Scam Centre in Singapore.
The visits focused on establishing collaboration, enhancing capacity, strengthening best practices and addressing critical issues such as online scams, fraud and cybersecurity threats.
Deputy Permanent Secretary (Infocommunications) at the Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications (MTIC) Haji Hairul Mohd Daud bin Haji Abdul Karim, Cyber Security Brunei (CSB) Interim Commissioner Shamsul Bahri bin Haji Kamis and MTIC senior officials accompanied the minister.
For the working visit, they were joined by members and representatives of the National Cyber Security Committee, comprising officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, Royal Brunei Police Force, Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam and CSB. – James Kon
