ASEAN, Partners Conduct Regional Drill To Bolster Defences Against Cyber Attacks
By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz
SINGAPORE, Oct 21 (Bernama) -- Amid increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, ASEAN and its partners have stepped up defences against attacks on network edge devices with a two-day regionwide cybersecurity drill in Singapore beginning Tuesday.
Hosted annually by the republic, the ASEAN CERT Incident Drill (ACID) is designed to test incident response procedures and enhance cybersecurity preparedness and cooperation among Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) from ASEAN member states and their dialogue partners.
This year’s exercise is held in conjunction with the Singapore International Cyber Week 2025.
It has brought together 36 incident responders from 10 member states, five dialogue partners, and Timor-Leste at the ASEAN Regional CERT facility.
The 20th iteration of ACID and is being conducted physically for the first time at the ASEAN-Singapore Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence, where the ASEAN Regional CERT facility is co-located.
The event also featured the maiden use of the ASEAN Regional CERT’s new information-sharing platform, according to a statement by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA).
Themed “Securing Network Devices at the Edge”, this year’s drill focuses on cyber incidents involving network edge devices such as VPN appliances and secure remote access gateways, which often serve as the first line of defence.
“As organisations increasingly rely on network edge devices, the drill will enable participants to learn practical techniques to secure these devices,” CSA said in a statement.
For the first time, participants will utilise the ASEAN Regional CERT’s Information Sharing Mechanism (ISM). Commissioned in May 2025, the ISM functions as a centralised communication channel to support cyber threat information sharing, technical exchanges, and cyber exercise coordination.
ASEAN Regional CERT Task Force overall coordinator and chief executive of Malaysia’s National Cyber Security Agency Dr Megat Zuhairy Megat Tajuddin said the ACID represents a collective commitment to strengthen regional cyber resilience.
“This year is especially meaningful as ACID is having its first physical iteration at the new ASEAN Regional CERT facility and marks the first use of the ASEAN Regional CERT ISM in an exercise setting since its operationalisation earlier this year. These milestones will pave the way forward in safeguarding our shared digital ecosystem,” he said.
This year, participants will also engage in a tabletop exercise to manage cross-border cyber incidents and a workshop focused on strengthening defences against Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs).
It will involve participants working together to address a simulated scenario affecting the critical systems of multiple countries, providing an opportunity to coordinate regional efforts in threat mitigation, remediation, recovery, and takedown.
In addition, cybersecurity platform Hack The Box will conduct a workshop titled “Upskilling Blue Teams: Defending Against APTs” to equip participants with practical skills to detect and respond to APT attacks amid a global rise in such threats.
-- BERNAMA
