UK and Singapore will collaborate to address cyber threats

A £2.4m investment will fund several join research projects over three years

The UK and Singapore are to embark on six new joint research projects to develop new solutions that will enhance the resilience of systems and infrastructure to cyber attacks.

The UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Singapore’s National Research Foundation announced the joint £2.4 million ($5.1 million) research call in May this year, and has now chosen from the 22 proposals received. The six final projects cover research areas in Intrusions, Data Analytics, Human Factors and Sector & Applications.

Recognising the importance of collaboration in this area, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cybersecurity was signed by the UK’s Cabinet Office and Singapore’s Cybersecurity Agency during Prime Minster David Cameron’s visit to Singapore in July 2015. This joint research programme implements the joint R&D collaboration element of the MoU and has been welcomed by both governments.

Minister for the Cabinet Office and paymaster general Matt Hancock, said: “The research partnership between British and Singaporean universities will help both of our countries keep pace with the evolving cyber threat. I have no doubt that these projects will produce ground-breaking cyber security research and help protect us from threats online.”

The projects that will be funded under this programme are:

• The University of Oxford and the National University of Singapore will work on Security and Privacy in Smart Grid Systems: Countermeasure and Formal Verification

   The University of Kent will work with the National University of Singapore on Vulnerability Discovery using Abduction and Interpolation

• The University of Surrey and Singapore Management University will work on Computational Modelling and Automatic Non-intrusive Detection Of Human Behaviour-based Insecurity

• Imperial College and the National University of Singapore will work on Machine Learning, Robust Optimisation, and Verification: Creating Synergistic Capabilities in Cybersecurity Research

• Imperial College and Singapore University of Technology and Design will work on Security by Design for Interconnected Critical Infrastructures

• The University of Southampton and Nanyang Technological University will develop cybersecurity solutions for smart traffic control systems.