On Monday (August 23, 2021), the US Treasury Department and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) confirmed the finalization of a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cybersecurity Cooperation.
This announcement has been made during Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent trip to Singapore, where the United States and Singapore acknowledged the importance of strengthening cooperation in new areas or domains to address the challenges of the modern world.
The US Treasury Department and the MAS have been discussing/sharing cyber threat information since 2018. The MoU has now formalized and strengthened what has been a fairly strong cybersecurity partnership between both organizations.
Notably, the MoU aims to increase cooperation between the US Department of Treasury and MAS in the following key areas:
- Information sharing that’s related to the financial services sector including cybersecurity regulations and appropriate guidance, cybersecurity incidents, and cybersecurity threat intelligence;
- Appropriate staff training and study visits to encourage cooperation in the area of cybersecurity; and
- Competency-building activities including the conduct of international cybersecurity exercises.
Secretary of the US Treasury Department, Janet L. Yellen stated:
“The United States and Singapore have a longstanding bilateral partnership. In our interconnected world, Treasury and MAS share common goals of maintaining strength and stability, as well as operational and cyber resilience in each country’s economy and financial system. The cybersecurity cooperation agreement will serve to improve the cyber resilience of both countries’ financial systems.”
Managing Director at MAS Ravi Menon remarked:
“Given the growing complexity of cyber-attacks and how interconnected the global financial system is, close cooperation is essential to ensure the cyber resilience of our financial systems. This MoU between the Treasury and MAS will be particularly useful in the areas of cyber threat information sharing and cross-border cybersecurity exercises. It will also help cement what is already a strong and fruitful partnership between the two institutions.”
