Panellists call for countries to work together to fight cyber threats

Countries should cooperate and share information about cyber attacks to tackle the threat posed by cybercriminals, panellists at a World Economic Forum (WEF) discussion said on Tuesday.

- Royston Sim

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, whose country suffered a massive cyber attack last July that shut down public services, said sharing information with Albania's allies is crucial so that they can identify the type of cyber weapons being used.

The cyber threat is akin to the pandemic, but worse, he added at a panel discussion on securing critical infrastructure. "This is not about one virus. It is about a multitude of viruses and mutations that happen every second."

Sharing information will increase "immunity", he said, cautioning that cyber attacks can inflict an "apocalyptic" degree of harm.

Singapore's Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo, who was on the panel, said enhancing international cooperation is one of the key planks of the Republic's cyber-security strategy.

Cybercriminals do not respect geographical boundaries, said Mrs Teo, who is also Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity. If nation-states do not cooperate in areas such as exchanging information on cyber incidents and plugging legislative gaps that criminals using ransomware are taking advantage of, "we will continue to find it very difficult to get on top of the game", she added.