The joint facility will for the first time bring together Microsoft capabilities in a single location in Asia-Pacific to deliver a holistic approach to serving the security needs of both the public and private sector and building a trusted and secure computing environment, a critical enabler for digital transformation.

The Microsoft Transparency Centre is a cornerstone of Microsoft’s long-standing Government Security Programme (GSP), which offers participating government agencies the opportunity to review the source code of Microsoft products, access information on cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, and benefit from the expertise and insight of Microsoft security professionals.

Nearly 40 countries and international organisations currently participate in the Microsoft GSP programme with 10 participants from Asia.

The Singapore Transparency Centre is a convenient location for governments in the Asia-Pacific region and will be part of a global network that covers four regions, joining existing facilities in Redmond, Washington, for North America, and Brussels, Belgium, for Europe.

In addition, more details of other new Microsoft Transparency Centres will be shared later in 2016, including the recently announced Transparency Centre in Beijing, China.

“Public-private partnerships are key to strengthening national cybersecurity. The opening of the Microsoft regional Transparency Center in Singapore to serve the wider Asia-Pacific region advances our worldwide commitment to drive transparency, security and trust in digital technologies in the mobile-first and cloud-first world,” said Toni Townes-Whitley, corporate vice-president, Worldwide Public Sector, Microsoft Corporation.

“It is part of the Microsoft Government Security Programme, where we support, collaborate and enable governments to protect citizens, public services and national infrastructure from cybercrime threats and to meet their rigorous cybersecurity requirements by building strong capabilities to protect, detect and respond,” she added.

The Microsoft Cybersecurity Centre in Singapore, co-located with the Transparency Centre, will enable enterprises and organisations to tap into a pool of resources such as security specialists and technologies at Microsoft.

With the rise in cybercriminal activities and the rapidly changing cybersecurity landscape, the Cybersecurity Centre will bring forth innovations and advancements by way of security platform, threat intelligence analytics, advanced threat protection, machine learning capabilities, security services and cloud security in a comprehensive way.

Keshav Dhakad, regional director and assistant general counsel, Digital Crimes Unit (DCU), Microsoft Asia, said, “In the face of rising cyber attack sophistication, cybersecurity is mission-critical among C-suites and boardrooms.

“As governments and enterprises embrace digital transformation and strive for resilience, a holistic and agile security platform is ever more critical.

“This is where Microsoft’s unique threat intelligence innovations and trusted cloud ecosystem offer them powerful protection against security threats.

“Through strong public-private partnerships, we also empower them to investigate, disrupt and prosecute global cybercriminal networks.”

The Transparency Centre and Cybersecurity Centre will expand Microsoft’s public-private- partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region, while enabling and empowering enterprises to manage modern security threats effectively.

This will build on the momentum in the last few years, where the Microsoft DCU has fostered various partnerships with public sector and enforcement agencies in the region.

This includes strategic collaboration with Interpol in global malware botnet disruption operations and a PhotoDNA licensing collaboration to support Interpol’s efforts in preventing child sexual exploitation online, as well as cyber threat intelligence sharing partnerships with several Internet Service Providers in the region and government Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs).

To support a comprehensive, cross-company and cross-industry approach to cybersecurity, Microsoft invests more than a billion dollars a year in security research, innovation and development.

This includes a recently announced global Cyber Defense Operations Centre (C-DOC), a state-of-the-art 24/7 facility that brings together security response experts from across the company to help protect, detect and respond to threats in real-time, securing Microsoft’s internal resources, cloud infrastructure, customer online services, devices and products.

Microsoft has also recently established an Enterprise Cybersecurity Group (ECG) - a dedicated team of worldwide security experts who will deliver security solutions, expertise and services that empower organisations to modernise their IT platforms, securely move to the cloud and keep data safe.