SINGAPORE - As economic opportunities grow in the region, so will the number of tech-enabled crimes and security threats.

Coupled with burgeoning travel, homeland security departments face an uphill task of tackling more of such problems with limited resources, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam.

“Over the next five to seven years, economic opportunities will explode. There’ll be a lot more infrastructure. There’s travelling that’s going to really skyrocket, even more than what is happening now,” he said.

“All this would be very good for this region. But at the same time, it does mean more problems... because we (homeland security agencies) will be expected to do much more with the same amount of resources, or maybe marginally increased resources.”

The minister was giving the opening remarks on the first day of the Milipol Asia-Pacific and TechX Summit, held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre from April 3 to 5.

The inaugural event, which will be held biennially, was co-organised by the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX), the GIE Milipol consortium, and events company Comexposium Singapore. It is supported by Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and France’s Ministry of the Interior.

The summit plays host to prominent government officials, industry leaders and academia, who will discuss issues such as emerging security threats and new security technologies. An accompanying trade exhibition showcases the latest innovations in homeland security.

More than 1...