In brief
On 2 April 2024, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (“CSA”) issued its closing note to the Public Consultation on the Cybersecurity (Amendment) Bill (“Bill”). The Public Consultation on the draft Bill was held from 15 December 2023 to 15 January 2024. The CSA First Reading of the Bill took place on 3 April 2024. The Second Reading of the Bill is slated to take place on 7 May 2024.
In more detail
From 15 December 2023 to 15 January 2024, the CSA held a public consultation on the draft Bill.
The Bill seeks to update the Cybersecurity Act (“Act”) to address new cyber-threat risks and considerations and to update and safeguard the security of Singapore’s cyberspace. You may find out more about the Bill in our newsletter here.
Following the closing of the Public Consultation on the Bill, CSA released its closing note on 2 April 2024, and provided an overview of the feedback received during the Public Consultation.
The CSA had highlighted that there was an overall support for Bill in relation to extend the regulatory oversight of the Commissioner to include key systems to Singapore’s cyber ecosystem that are not classified as critical information infrastructure (“CII”). This support comes from the understanding that such entities may hold sensitive information and/or play pivotal roles or functions that forms the foundation of Singapore’s economy and way of life.
Notwithstanding the general support of for the Bill, there were some concerns were raised that the Bill, if passed, will increase the cost of conducting business, in particular, for the entities that would be regulated as a result. Such concerns have highlighted the general need for industry respondents to have a better understanding of the effects of the Bill. For example, industry respondents not responsible for CII (for e.g. service providers of CII) have expressed interest in better understanding how the CII-related provisions would impact them, if at all. Several respondents have also raised concerns that the text of the Bill was complicated to follow. In response, the CSA has stated that they remain in constant closed-door consultation with industry consultations with relevant stakeholders even after the close of the public consultation.
We note that the Bill has since been introduced in Parliament following the First Reading of the Bill on 3 April 2024. The Second Reading of the Bill will take place on 7 May 2024. We will monitor developments in this area.
Key takeaways
The public consultation shows that the CSA remains committed to ensure that the Bill is up-to-date and aligned with developments in technology and industry practices. The public consultation was just one of the many efforts by the CSA to engage the relevant stakeholders and interested parties who will be affected by the Bill. Through continued close-door consultations and further industry consultations on the development of subsidiary technical and operational matters, the CSA remains open to addressing feedback from the public. We continue to engage with the CSA to stay abreast of these developments.
You may access the full closing note by the CSA here.
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