The world of Internet, cyberspace and social media have greatly benefitted the world since they were invented. The world today has become a smaller place and more inter-connected. The world of Internet, cyberspace and social media are now part of our daily life in work and leisure too.

However, it also have its own challenges too! Cybersecurity is of utmost importance, the presence and roles that they play today is more significant and important, for organisations, businesses and even individuals too.

Microsoft recently launched its first combined Transparency Center and Cybersecurity Center in Singapore, serving the Asia-Pacific region. Let me share with you more of the news and details from the press release information –

Microsoft today launched its first combined Transparency Center and Cybersecurity Center in Singapore, serving the Asia-Pacific region. The joint facility will for the first time bring together Microsoft capabilities in a single location in Asia-Pacific to deliver a holistic approach to serving the security needs of both the public and private sector and building a trusted and secure computing environment, a critical enabler for digital transformation.

The Microsoft Transparency Center is a cornerstone of Microsoft’s long-standing Government Security Programme (GSP), which offers participating government agencies the opportunity to review the source code of Microsoft products, access information on cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, and benefit from the expertise and insight of Microsoft security professionals. Nearly 40 countries and international organisations currently participate in the programme with 10 participants from Asia-Pacific.

The Singapore Transparency Center is a convenient location for governments in the Asia region and will be part of a global network that covers four regions, joining existing facilities in Redmond, Washington, for North America, and Brussels, Belgium, for Europe. In addition, more details of other new Microsoft Transparency Centers will be shared later in 2016, including the recently announced Transparency Center in Beijing, China.

“Public-private partnerships are key to strengthening national cybersecurity. The opening of the Microsoft regional Transparency Center in Singapore to serve the wider Asia-Pacific region, advances our worldwide commitment to drive transparency, security and trust in digital technologies in the mobile-first and cloud-first world. It is part of the Microsoft Government Security Programme, where we support, collaborate and enable governments to protect citizens, public services and national infrastructure from cybercrime threats and to meet their rigorous cybersecurity requirements by building strong capabilities to protect, detect and respond,” said Toni Townes-Whitley, Corporate Vice-President, Worldwide Public Sector, Microsoft Corporation.

The Microsoft Cybersecurity Center in Singapore, co-located with the Transparency Center, will enable enterprises and organisations to tap into a pool of resources such as security specialists and technologies at Microsoft. Amid rising cybercriminal activities and a rapidly changing cybersecurity landscape, the Cybersecurity Center will bring forth innovations and advancements by way of security platform, threat intelligence analytics, advanced threat protection, machine learning capabilities, security services and cloud security in a comprehensive way.

“With Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and every organisation to achieve more, we need to ensure every individual, organisation, and government has the ability to use technology they can trust. The extensive technology footprint that Microsoft has around the world has allowed us to understand and counter cyber threats. Beyond leveraging that knowledge to build trusted applications and products, we also have the responsibility to share the same intelligence with governments and organisations so that we can contribute towards a safer and more trusted cyber world for Singapore, the region, and beyond,” said Jessica Tan, Managing Director, Microsoft Singapore.

“Cyberspace has opened up many opportunities for the economy and society. However, it has also become a place for individuals and groups to launch cyber attacks on governments, organisations and people. International cooperation is therefore needed against such threat actors. We are happy that Microsoft has chosen Singapore to be its global partner in cybersecurity. Robust partnerships between the government and industry, such as through the Microsoft Transparency Center and Cybersecurity Center, will enable all of us to build trust and a safer cyberspace for everyone,” said David Koh, Chief Executive, Cyber Security Agency of Singapore.

The Transparency Center and Cybersecurity Center will expand Microsoft’s public-private- partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region, while enabling and empowering enterprises to manage modern security threats effectively. This will build on the momentum in the last few years, where the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) has fostered various partnerships with public sector and enforcement agencies in the region. This includes strategic collaboration with Interpol in global malware botnet disruption operations and a PhotoDNA licensing collaboration to support Interpol’s efforts in preventing child sexual exploitation online, as well as cyber threat intelligence sharing partnerships with several Internet Service Providers in the region and government Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs).

To support a comprehensive, cross-company and cross-industry approach to cybersecurity, Microsoft invests more than a billion dollars a year in security research, innovation and development. This includes a recently announced global Cyber Defense Operations Center (C-DOC), a state-of-the-art 24/7 facility that brings together security response experts from across the company to help protect, detect and respond to threats in real-time, securing Microsoft’s internal resources, cloud infrastructure, customer online services, devices and products. Microsoft has also recently established an Enterprise Cybersecurity Group (ECG) – a dedicated team of worldwide security experts who will deliver security solutions, expertise and services that empower organisations to modernise their IT platforms, securely move to the cloud and keep data safe.

* Information courtesy of Microsoft Singapore and IN.FOM *