EU AI Act
EU regulation for risk-based AI governance and safety
MAS TRM
Singapore guidelines for technology risk management in finance.
Quick Verdict
EU AI Act mandates risk-based AI regulation across EU sectors with conformity and fines, while MAS TRM provides supervisory tech risk guidelines for Singapore FIs emphasizing governance and resilience. Organizations adopt AI Act for EU market access, TRM for regulatory compliance.
EU AI Act
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 Artificial Intelligence Act
Key Features
- Risk-based classification into four AI risk tiers
- Prohibits unacceptable-risk AI practices outright
- Requires conformity assessment and CE marking for high-risk AI
- Imposes obligations on general-purpose AI models
- Enforces via fines up to 7% global turnover
MAS TRM
MAS Technology Risk Management Guidelines
Key Features
- Board and senior management accountability for oversight
- Proportional controls based on risk and criticality
- End-to-end lifecycle from governance to audit
- Third-party risk assessment and ongoing monitoring
- Annual penetration testing for internet-facing systems
Detailed Analysis
A comprehensive look at the specific requirements, scope, and impact of each standard.
EU AI Act Details
What It Is
EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) is a comprehensive horizontal regulation for AI, entering force August 2024. It adopts a risk-based architecture prohibiting unacceptable risks, regulating high-risk systems, transparency for limited-risk, and minimal oversight for others. Scope covers AI value chain with extraterritorial reach.
Key Components
- **Four risk tiersunacceptable (banned), high-risk (Annex I/III), limited-risk (transparency), minimal-risk.
- High-risk obligations: risk management (Art. 9), data governance (Art. 10), documentation (Arts. 11-13), human oversight (Art. 14), cybersecurity (Art. 15).
- GPAI rules (Chapter V) with systemic risk duties.
- Conformity assessment, CE marking, EU registration; hybrid enforcement.
Why Organizations Use It
Mandatory for EU-market AI to avoid fines up to 7% global turnover. Builds trust, ensures market access, manages risks in sectors like employment, healthcare. Enhances governance, competitiveness via standards alignment.
Implementation Overview
Phased (6-36 months): inventory/classify AI, build QMS, conduct assessments. Cross-functional for all sizes; notified bodies for some high-risk. Ongoing monitoring required.
MAS TRM Details
What It Is
MAS Technology Risk Management (TRM) Guidelines (revised January 2021) are supervisory guidelines issued by Singapore's Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for financial institutions. They provide principles-based guidance on managing technology and cyber risks across governance, operations, and resilience, emphasizing proportional implementation based on risk profile and complexity.
Key Components
- 15 main sections covering governance, risk frameworks, secure development, IT service management, resilience, access controls, cryptography, cyber operations, assessments, and audit.
- Synthesized into 12 core principles like board accountability, asset classification, third-party oversight, and defence-in-depth.
- No fixed controls; focuses on outcomes for CIA triad (confidentiality, integrity, availability).
- Compliance via supervisory review, not formal certification.
Why Organizations Use It
- Meets MAS supervisory expectations for licensed financial institutions.
- Enhances cyber resilience, reduces incident impact, and builds stakeholder trust.
- Supports digital transformation while mitigating systemic risks.
Implementation Overview
- Risk-based approach: asset inventories, control mapping, testing regimes.
- Applies to all MAS-supervised FIs; scalable by size/complexity.
- Involves governance setup, policy development, training, and ongoing assurance. (178 words)
Key Differences
| Aspect | EU AI Act | MAS TRM |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | AI systems risk classification, high-risk obligations | Technology/cyber risk governance, operations, resilience |
| Industry | All sectors using AI, EU-wide extraterritorial | Singapore financial institutions only |
| Nature | Mandatory EU regulation with fines | Supervisory guidelines, proportionate implementation |
| Testing | Conformity assessments, notified bodies | Penetration testing, vulnerability assessments annually |
| Penalties | Up to 7% global turnover fines | Supervisory actions, fines via other notices |
Scope
Industry
Nature
Testing
Penalties
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about EU AI Act and MAS TRM
EU AI Act FAQ
MAS TRM FAQ
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