Brunei Stepping Up Cybersecurity and Fraud Mechanisms

At the third Brunei Cyber Security Conference (CySec) 2025 on September 16, 2025, the Government of Brunei’s Minister-in-Charge of Cybersecurity and Minister of Transport and Infocommunications, Dato Shamhary Mustapha, said that cybersecurity is a shared social responsibility shared by all, not just of a few experts. Cyber Security Brunei (CSB) is intensifying efforts to address online scams and digital fraud by cooperating with other government agencies and preparing new additional guidelines for Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) owners. These include Operational Technology Security Guidelines, Cloud Security Policy Guidelines for CII, and updated Codes of Practices. CSB is also working with the Royal Brunei Police Force to lead the Anti-Scam Centre. 

Unlike previous approaches that focused mainly on technical capacity and public awareness, these new measures reflect a major shift toward institutional integration, regulatory enforcement, and inter-agency coordination. By including enforcement bodies and technology platforms, the government is ensuring the accountability of various stakeholders in technology. Brunei is also working on the introduction of the Next-Generation Security Intel (NSI) platform to strengthen monitoring, reporting, and oversight capabilities. Also, Waspada.BN, a multi-agency fact-checking platform managed by the Authority for Infocommunications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI), was introduced earlier this year.  

All these developments go to show that the Government of Brunei is taking a forward-thinking approach, going beyond reactive, rhetorical measures. Under these new guidelines, cybersecurity is framed as issues in compliance and partnership with consumers, beyond just technology policy. As such, foreign companies planning to operate CII in Brunei may be subject to stricter cybersecurity obligations, while those offering cybersecurity services and solutions could tap into this opportunity where platform monitoring of NSI would raise demand. Ultimately, Brunei’s cybersecurity regulatory direction is becoming increasingly compatible with international and regional standards.