Experts warn of security gap as Singapore accelerates AI missions

Factory and medical sensors face cyber risk as the National AI Council drives digital overhaul.

Singapore faces higher cybersecurity risks amidst the government's stronger push to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into the economy, with national AI missions launched across four sectors: advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance, and healthcare.

“As Singapore modernises its digital infrastructure, the exposure of endpoints, a primary entry point for cyberattacks, is expanding beyond laptops and servers to include cloud systems and connected devices such as medical equipment and factory sensors,” said James Greenwood, AVP of Solution Engineering at Tanium.

“Budgets should focus on strengthening endpoint management, maintaining asset inventories, securing configurations, identifying vulnerabilities early, and applying patches at scale,” he added.

This followed the 2026 Budget statement which announced the establishment of a National AI Council, chaired by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, to guide implementation of the AI agenda.

Peter Liddell, Global Leader at KPMG’s Operations Centre of Excellence in Singapore, noted that the Budget balances immediate needs with long-term growth.

“By prioritising AI, particularly the AI Mission targeting four key sectors, and allocating $37b for research, innovation, and enterprise, Singapore positions itself as a critical hub for global flows amid shifting geopolitics. These measures will accelerate value creation and strengthen competitiveness,” he said.

Prof Susanna Leong, Vice President (Applied Research) at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), said Budget 2026 represents a decisive step in Singapore’s AI journey.

“The establishment of a National AI Council, the launch of national AI missions, and stronger support for enterprise adoption through targeted programmes and tax incentives signal a shift from capability building toward coordinated, economy-wide deployment of AI.”, she said.

“For institutes of higher learning such as SIT, we will support AI diffusion and workforce upskilling through the SIT x NVIDIA AI Centre, which drives innovation projects, provides training and develops talent in AI application,” she added.

On digital infrastructure resilience, Jake Moore, Global Security Advisor at ESET, cited recent global internet outages.

“These outages highlight how reliant companies are on fragile networks. Many depend heavily on providers like Cloudflare, Microsoft, and Amazon. DNS issues, which can collapse when overwhelmed, were the cause. Major cloud providers have strong failsafes, offering more protection than smaller providers,” he noted.