As part of efforts to strengthen Singapore’s cyber-security ecosystem, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) on Nov 14 awarded more than $16 million to support 18 research and innovation projects in the field.
Of these, 13 new research projects were awarded up to a total of $13.2 million under the Translation and Innovation Grant 2025, led by the CyberSG R&D Programme Office (CRPO).
These projects have produced solutions that are currently undergoing various stages of research, testing and real-world implementation, in collaboration with businesses and government agencies, CSA said. Among the projects was AutoSOC, a collaboration between Nanyang Technological University and cyber-security firm Antarex.
AutoSOC is an agentic artificial intelligence system – which can act autonomously to make decisions and perform tasks with little human intervention – designed for automated security operations centre applications. These projects will be incorporated into Propel-X, a new generative AI enabled coaching and collaboration platform, which connects academia and industry.
Another five cyber-security companies were collectively awarded about $3 million in funding under the Cybersecurity Call for Innovation (CyberCall) 2024, led by the CyberSG Talent, Innovation and Growth (TIG) Collaboration Centre. Among the five is Singapore-based Betterdata, which proposed the development of a model to generate synthetic data that can safeguard people’s privacy, as well as the confidentiality of their data.
CyberCall is CSA’s annual challenge supporting the development of innovative cyber-security solutions. The awarding of the 18 projects was announced by Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How on Nov 14 at CyberSG Innovation Day 2025, held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
Mr Tan noted that since CRPO’s establishment in 2023, up to $40 million in grants has been awarded to 22 research projects. These include projects in key research areas such as 5G and 6G telecommunications security, post-quantum cryptography and cyber security in critical information infrastructure.
To complement the Propel-X platform, CRPO will launch a white paper that draws on insights from past efforts to translate research into practical applications, said Mr Tan, who is also Senior Minister of State for Health.
“This paper will offer practical frameworks to guide researchers towards deployment-ready innovations,” he added. “The role of the TIG centre will also evolve to play a greater role in shaping the next phase of Singapore’s innovation journey.”
Besides launching CyberCall 2025 to “spark the next wave of innovative cyber-security solutions”, Mr Tan said the centre will also deepen efforts to build a cyber-security community here, bringing together venture capitalists, chief information security officers and cyber-security solution providers.
CyberCall 2025, which was launched on Nov 14 during the event, seeks proposals in areas such as cyber security for AI and privacy-enhancing technologies. In the user-driven category, companies are invited to address challenges posed by organisations such as the Home Team Science and Technology Agency, which is seeking the development of a secure information sharing platform that allows multiple agencies to collaborate on cryptocurrency investigations while maintaining operational security. The TIG centre is a $20 million joint initiative by NUS and CSA, with the aim of establishing Singapore as a global cyber-security innovation hub.
