The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced the creation of a Cyber and Technology Resilience Experts (CTREX) Panel to advise on emerging technologies risks in the financials sector. Replacing the Cyber Security Advisory Panel, the CTREX Panel is set to advise MAS on key emerging technology risks and threats in the financial ecosystem, as well as to recommend strategies and procedures to augment the technology and cyber resilience of Singapore.

Comprising 13 global industry participants, experts, and practitioners in both cybersecurity and technology leaders, the newly formed Panel will see them convene for the inaugural meeting in mid-2025. When commenting on the announcement, representatives from the Monetary Authority of Singapore mentioned that considering that financial institutions rely more on technology to provide services to their customers, the authority recognises the importance of maintaining resilience and managing cyber risks. MAS intends to tap into the CTREX Panel to offer global perspectives on developing these critical capabilities as Singapore continues its digitalisation journey. Singapore’s fight against fraud in the financial sector Throughout 2024, Singapore has been focusing its efforts on mitigating fraudulent activities in the financial sector, with the region establishing new regulatory requirements and introducing additional measures to safeguard consumers and businesses.

For example, most recently, MAS and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) announced that major retail banks are set to implement Singpass Face Verification (SFV) to increase resilience against phishing scams. Banks aimed to solidify the digital token setup process for retail banking customers, with SFV equipping users with advanced protection against unauthorised access to their bank accounts. Furthermore, back in July 2024, Singapore solidified its regulatory framework against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, particularly for cryptocurrency exchanges. At that time, the move underlined the region’s commitment to preserving a secure and reliable financial ecosystem.

The initiative saw MAS updating the national risk assessment of terrorism financing, with the latest modification raising the risk level for cryptocurrency exchanges from medium-low to medium-high. The measure was intended to prevent the misuse of Singapore’s economic openness by criminal and terrorist entities. Source: Link .