Google & CSA join forces to boost Singapore cyber resilience

Google has announced a suite of new initiatives using Artificial Intelligence aimed at bolstering Singapore's national cybersecurity ecosystem.

The initiatives involve a renewed collaboration with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), deployment of AI-powered security tools across public sector agencies, and new programmes to help local businesses and individuals defend against online threats.

Renewed partnership with CSA

As part of a renewed Memorandum of Cooperation with the CSA, Google and the agency will focus on AI-driven intelligence sharing, joint operations to counter malicious cyber activities, and technical collaboration on AI-powered security solutions. The partnership will also involve training and capacity building aimed at enhancing the national cyber workforce's capabilities.

This development builds on previous efforts, including a 2023 initiative involving an AI agents sandbox with Google, CSA, GovTech, and the Infocomm Media Development Authority to explore agentic AI solutions for the public sector.

Mr David Koh, Chief Executive of CSA, said, "As AI permeates more aspects of our everyday lives, AI security has become more critical, especially when it comes to developing areas like agentic AI. We welcome the efforts of Google, and look forward to continued collaboration to advance our shared mission of building a safer cyberspace for all users."

Royal Hansen, Vice President, Engineering at Google, said, "AI has given us a historic opportunity to reshape the cybersecurity landscape. By leveraging it proactively, we can tilt the balance from attackers to defenders to strengthen cyber resilience. However, technology is just one piece of the puzzle, which is why public-private partnerships such as the one between Google and CSA are a strategic imperative to help us deploy, learn and iterate on how we can leverage AI successfully for cybersecurity."

Enhancing public sector cyber resilience

To address evolving challenges in the public sector, government agencies including GovTech Singapore have adopted Google Cloud Cybershield. This solution seeks to close gaps such as fragmented security data and talent shortages by providing AI- and intelligence-driven, national-scale cyber defence capabilities.

Cybershield operates on two main "pillars": a nationwide Security Operations Centre that enables federated threat detection, and expert guidance from Mandiant, a Google-owned entity, to strengthen national security capabilities.

The goal is to enable agencies to proactively identify and respond to cyber threats with greater confidence.

Programmemes for businesses and individuals

Recognising that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and non-profits may lack dedicated cyber security resources, Google.org is supporting The Asia Foundation to establish student-led Cybersecurity Clinics at Temasek Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic.

The clinics will run Cyber Essentials workshops for MSME employees, covering topics such as phishing attack recognition and data backup basics, complemented by community outreach and upskilling efforts. The initiative is part of the Google.org APAC Cybersecurity Fund and seeks to build cyber capabilities among smaller organisations.

On the individual front, Google has launched "Be Scam Ready," an interactive game aimed at improving users' ability to detect common fraud techniques. The game simulates scam scenarios in a controlled environment to help users build psychological resilience against real-world scams.

Updates for mobile and messaging security

In addition to these educational programmes, Google has introduced several new features to its Messages service to protect users from scams. The "Safer links" update now warns users about suspicious links within spam messages and restricts access to potentially harmful sites unless the user marks the message as legitimate.

Android users also have access to a "Key Verifier" tool, allowing them to scan a QR code for trusted contacts and verify that their end-to-end encrypted messages are secure and private.

These efforts expand upon Google's mobile fraud protection measures, such as the fraud protection features on Google Play Protect. As of September 2025, Play Protect has blocked 2.78 million high-risk app installation attempts from non-official sources across 622,000 devices in Singapore. The system has also stopped over 48,000 unique apps that could have been exploited for financial fraud and scams.