Danielle Yeow moderated a High-Level Panel on “Tipping Point: Balancing Security & Innovation in the Digital Era”
CIL's lead on Cyber Law and Governance, Danielle Yeow, moderated a High-Level Panel on "Tipping Point: Balancing Security & Innovation in the Digital Era" during the Singapore International Cyber Week’s Opening Plenary on 15th October 2024. The panel comprised Ms Larisa Galadza (Director General, Cyber, Critical Technology and Democratic Resilience Bureau, International Security and Political Affairs Branch, Global Affairs Canada), H.E. Mr Tanel Sepp (Ambassador at Large for Cyber Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia), H.E. Dr Ibraheem S. Al Furaih (Advisor to the Governor, National Cybersecurity Authority, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), and Dr Richard Horne (Chief Executive Officer, National Cyber Security Centre, United Kingdom).
The discussion was preceded by a keynote address by Mr Wang Yingkang, Deputy Director General in-charge-of Cybersecurity, Cyberspace Administration of China, who highlighting PRC’s approach to regulating emerging technologies including the Interim Measures to regulate Generative AI released in July 2023, and the Global AI Governance Initiative that was launched at the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Oct 2023. The panel navigated a range of issues around the question of how to balance regulatory measures for addressing threats posed by increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, further exacerbated by the misuse of emerging technologies which has serious implications for national security, against the need to allow adequate space for innovation in the digital space. Panellists shared insights, drawing from the experiences from their respective jurisdictions, to highlight how their governments have navigated the security-innovation conundrum. Recognizing that the interplay between innovation and security is delicate and dynamic, key insights that emerged included the following:-
- security and innovation must not be seen to be in tension but as two imperatives of the digital era;
- need and value of continued engagement and international cooperation in pursuance of the twin objectives of innovation and security.
