Singapore's MAS and Top Banks Form ACT Taskforce to Counter AI-Powered Cyber Threats
Singapore’s MAS and Top Banks Form ACT Taskforce to Counter AI-Powered Cyber Threats #
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) have jointly established the AI-Driven Cyber and Technology Risk Taskforce, known as ACT, bringing together Singapore’s largest financial institutions to coordinate defences against cyber threats amplified by advanced artificial intelligence.
Formally announced on 28 July 2026, ACT’s member organisations had already begun collaborating in May. Members include MAS, ABS, the three major local lenders DBS, OCBC and UOB, Singapore Exchange (SGX), Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) and Banking Computer Services (BCS).
The taskforce was formed amid growing concern among regulators and industry leaders over how advanced AI is changing the nature of cyber threats. According to a joint announcement from MAS and ABS, frontier AI models can now rapidly identify and exploit software vulnerabilities while automating attacks at a scale difficult to achieve manually, heightening systemic risk across the financial sector.
ACT will work across three areas: industry-wide collaboration, allowing member organisations to share AI cybersecurity use cases and draw on external specialists; proof-of-concept trials of AI-enabled defence tools against the current threat environment; and developing practical guidance to help financial institutions detect, prevent and respond to AI-driven attacks.
Vincent Loy, MAS Assistant Managing Director for Technology and Chief Technology Officer, said frontier AI is intensifying the severity, scale and sophistication of cyber threats and that the financial sector must respond with urgency and strong collaboration. Mrs. Ong-Ang Ai Boon, Director of ABS, said close coordination, strong governance and ongoing partnership with regulators and industry stakeholders will be essential to keeping Singapore’s financial sector resilient in the face of evolving AI-related risks.
Singapore is among the first jurisdictions to establish a formal, multi-institution taskforce dedicated to AI-amplified cyber and technology risk in financial services. With a regulator, three systemic banks, an exchange and two key payment operators under one body, ACT is designed to produce shared playbooks, validated tools and industry-wide guidance rather than function as a purely advisory forum.
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