Singapore opened SICW 2026 with a blunt message: no government, company or country can see the full picture of today’s cyber threats, and artificial intelligence is now raising the stakes for defenders and attackers alike.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 11th Singapore International Cyber Week on 13 October 2026, Gwenda Fong, Commissioner of Cybersecurity and Chief Executive of the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), called for stronger international cooperation as threats grow more complex.
Her address came a day after Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information and Minister-in-charge of Cybersecurity and Smart Nation, warned that trust in digital systems is becoming harder to sustain.
This year’s theme is “Cyber at a Crossroads: Shaping the New Cyber Order.
SICW 2026 Opens With a Warning
Fong, attending her first SICW as CSA chief, said Singapore’s success has been built on being open and connected. That leaves its economy and society dependent on digital infrastructure, platforms and supply chains that extend well beyond its shores.
Governments, infrastructure operators, cloud providers and cybersecurity firms each see part of the threat landscape, she said, but none sees all of it.
“What appears to be an isolated incident to one organisation may in fact be part of a much larger campaign,” Fong said. Assembling the picture is only half the challenge, she added. It must be done quickly enough to act before the adversary does.
AI Cuts Both Ways at SICW 2026
Fong said Singapore cannot simply keep adding analysts as threats grow in volume and sophistication. Instead, it wants AI to help defenders “see more, understand faster and to act more effectively.”
But adversaries can harness AI too, operating at greater speed and scale. The real test of AI cybersecurity, she said, is making sure the technology strengthens defences rather than tilting the advantage towards attackers.
She also flagged a newer risk. As agentic AI systems gain access to data, applications and tools, they create new dependencies and vulnerabilities.
“For years, cybersecurity has required us to understand what is connected to what. In an increasingly agentic world, we must also understand what can act on what,” Fong said, pointing to questions of permissions and consequences.
SICW 2026 Puts AI Risks Into Practice
Rather than only discussing what AI could mean for security, CSA is testing it in practice this year.
CSA is partnering with Google on an agentic AI cyber scenario exercise for international partners. It is working with the Singapore AI Safety Hub on a frontier AI governance workshop for officials from ASEAN and the wider Asia-Pacific. With Cloudflare, it is running hands-on training in AI-enabled cyber defence for critical infrastructure operators.
Fong pointed to the ASEAN CERT Incident Drill, held since 2006, as proof that practising together builds the habits that matter in a real crisis.
The Trust Deficit Behind SICW 2026
On 12 October, Teo described what she called a paradox. At precisely the time when more trust is needed, trust is becoming harder to sustain.
AI systems can make mistakes, be manipulated or behave in unintended ways, she said, and their capabilities are advancing faster than our understanding of the risks.
Teo cited UNC3886’s campaign against Singapore’s telecommunications sector as a recent example of sophisticated actors targeting critical infrastructure. Ransomware and cybercrime remain pervasive, while strategic competition is forcing harder choices on technologies, suppliers, standards and interoperability.
“We are willing to interact more, but find ourselves willing to trust less,” she said.
Without trust, Teo warned, businesses will hesitate to digitalise, citizens will be wary of new technologies, and countries will be less willing to stay open and connected.
“Accountability Cannot Be Outsourced”
Teo said industry must be a partner in securing the digital ecosystem, since it builds and operates much of the infrastructure economies depend on. That means shared standards, threat intelligence sharing, incident reporting and testing new technologies before deployment.
On increasingly autonomous AI, she said human judgement, oversight or control must be retained where necessary. “Ultimately, accountability cannot be outsourced. Least of all, to machines,” she said.
She outlined steps already under way. CSA released its Securing Agentic AI Addendum earlier this year to guide organisations on securing autonomous AI systems. The agency is also working with industry to prepare critical infrastructure for the transition to quantum-safe systems. In addition, leading operational technology manufacturers and technology providers have committed to attain Singapore’s Cyber Trust Mark.
What Comes Next
Teo said Senior Minister K Shanmugam would launch the Singapore Cybersecurity Strategy 2026, the country’s updated national strategy, the following day, with partnerships remaining central to it.
That approach will also carry into 2027, when Singapore assumes the ASEAN Chairmanship. Teo said Singapore will work with the bloc’s 11 member states to strengthen collective cyber resilience, deepen practical cooperation and capacity building, and work more closely with industry.
Estonia’s Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, Liisa-Ly Pakosta, also joined the week’s proceedings for a fireside chat with Fong.
Both leaders acknowledged that geopolitical competition is making cooperation harder. “Disagreement need not prevent dialogue, and competition need not preclude practical cooperation,” Fong said.
Teo put it simply: trust is not built through declarations, but through candid exchanges, competence and consistent action.
Fong closed with a challenge to every delegate in the room: look beyond your own vantage point and find the people who can help you see the rest.
