Pieter Danhieux (Secure Code Warrior)
GovTech, the Singapore government’s technology agency, has launched its new Digital Academy initiative, tapping Australian scale-up Secure Code Warrior to help build cyber security skills development through a secure code program.
Officially launched on 21 June, GovTech’s Digital Academy initiative is described by the Singapore government as ‘the only technology-focused learning institute designed for the public service sector’. It is designed to be an academy that operates at the intersection of technology and public service to strengthen the sector’s digital transformation.
Broadly, the initiative sees GovTech’s technology practice leads work closely with content partners, including Secure Code Warrior, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Google, Trustwave and Tableau to deliver a total of 95 program, which will be available by end of March 2022.
The programs span fields like application development, data and analytics, digital leadership and technology and operations management.
GovTech people and organisation strategy senior director D N Prasad, who spearheads the Digital Academy, suggested it was timely and necessary to enhance digital literacy among public officers in the city-state.
“The Digital Academy was conceptualised to address several gaps in the learning ecosystem, particularly for tech professionals in public service,” Prasad said. “Its unique value proposition is the offering of specially-curated program that will impart both deep technical skills and understanding of the business of government to ICT practitioners in the public sector.
“This would only be possible by working in close partnership with tech practice leaders in GovTech and reputable subject-matter experts from the industry, such as Secure Code Warrior,” he added.
Credit: GovTech Secure Code Warrior, a Sydney-headquartered secure coding provider, is one of the Digital Academy’s inaugural nine pioneer content partners.
Founded in 2015 by cyber security experts Pieter Danhieux and Matias Madou, Secure Code Warrior enables developers to build secure code rather than having to review or retrofit security during or after development.
Secure Code Warrior represents the Digital Academy’s only Australian partner and will support cyber security skills development through a secure code program made available to all Singapore government agencies, targeted at development teams and AppSec practitioners.
Danhieux, Secure Code Warrior CEO and co-founder, said it was positive to see the Singapore government recognise the importance of secure coding in digital transformation.
“We are thrilled to be levelling up our collaboration with GovTech,” Danhieux said. “The success we have achieved with GovTech to date provides the foundation for this content partnership with the academy to upskill all government employees in secure coding, ensuring they’re equipped to respond to the demands of digitalisation.
“Code is at the heart of many everyday interactions – from banking to healthcare and transportation – so it’s essential for all organisations to empower development and security teams to not only find vulnerabilities but gain the knowledge and skills to prevent them from occurring in the first place,” he added.
Throughout the Digital Academy’s official launch week, Secure Code Warrior will run one of its signature tournament events, challenging public sector developers to solve a series of coding missions based on real code examples while competing to identify, locate and fix vulnerabilities.
In December 2019, Secure Code Warrior attracted what was claimed at the time to be the largest United States investment in Series B funding for an Australian cyber security company.
The $70 million funding was led by Goldman Sachs, ForgePoint Capital and Cisco, along with existing investors from AirTree Ventures and Paladin Group.
