The Singapore Parliament has passed the Protection from Scams Bill (“Bill”).
The Bill is intended to address the concerning situation surrounding scams in Singapore, with a high number of scams being observed despite other recent measures and extensive public education efforts in recent years.

Singapore and the European Union (EU) have formalized their collaboration on Artificial Intelligence (AI) safety with the establishment of a new Administrative Arrangement (AA). This arrangement aims to enhance cooperation in promoting technological innovation and the development and responsible use of safe, trustworthy, and human-centric AI. The AA was signed by Mr Joseph Leong, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Digital Development and Information of Singapore, and Mr Roberto Viola, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology of the European Commission.

Singapore and the United Kingdom have signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to enhance the safety and reliability of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in its development and use. This agreement aims to pave the way for greater public trust in AI advancements. The MoC was signed by Minister for Digital Development and Information, Josephine Teo, and Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Peter Kyle, during Minister Teo’s working visit to the UK.

The Ministry of Home Affairs introduced the Protection from Scams Bill for First Reading in Parliament on 11 November 2024. The Bill empowers the Police to issue Restriction Orders (ROs) to banks to restrict an individual’s banking transactions, if there is reasonable belief that the individual will make money transfers to scammers.

In a recent article, The Cybersecurity of Gen-AI and LLMs: Current Issues and Concerns, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore provides helpful commentary on the security and privacy challenges associated with generative artificial intelligence and large language models. The article outlines issues such as accidental data leaks, vulnerabilities in AI-generated code and potential misuse of AI by malicious actors, before providing recommendations on the steps that technology companies can take to address these concerns.

The Cyber Security Agency (CSA) has just released Guidelines on Securing AI Systems (“Guidelines”) and a Companion Guide on Securing AI Systems (“Companion Guide”).
The Guidelines advocate for a “secure by design” and “secure by default” approach, addressing both existing cybersecurity threats and emerging risks, such as adversarial machine learning. The aim is to provide system owners with principles for raising awareness and implementing security controls throughout the AI lifecycle.
The Companion Guide is an open-collaboration resource, and while not mandatory, it offers guidance on useful measures and controls informed by industry best practices, academic insights and resources such as the MITRE ATLAS database and OWASP Top 10 for Machine Learning and Generative AI.

Baker McKenzie’s Sanctions Blog published the alert titled Singapore Sanctions Measures Come Into Force on 17 March 2022. Read the article via the link here. Please also visit our Sanctions Blog for the most recent updates.

Singapore authorities have introduced measures to combat SMS-phishing scams. These measures include the anti-SMS spoofing registry.

Baker McKenzie’s Sanctions Blog published the alert titled Singapore provides details of export control & financial sanctions on Russia on 6 March 2022. Read the article via the link here. Please also visit our Sanctions Blog for the most recent updates.

Baker McKenzie’s Sanctions Blog published the alert titled “Singapore will impose sanctions on Russia, including export controls and certain bank transactions” on 28 February 2022. Read the article via the link here. Please also visit our Sanctions Blog for the most recent updates.