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SINGAPORE: Singapore is taking steps to harden its national IT infrastructure against cyber-terrorism and cyber-espionage.
A new unit called the Singapore Infocomm Technology Security Authority or SITSA will be set up from October 1 to oversee efforts to safeguard the nation against infocomm technology security threats.
SITSA will be a division within the Internal Security Department (ISD) and be headed by Mr Ng Hoo Ming. This is the first time ISD is revealing the name of its officer.
It is a volatile landscape out there for the IT industry. Industry figures show nearly 12 million computers were hacked by cyber criminals last year and close to 23,500 new infected web pages are discovered daily.
Michelle Dennedy, chief governance office, Sun Microsystems Inc, said: "The same distributive computing which facilitates commerce can also damage it. There are different types of attacks and attackers.
"It is easier than ever to be an anonymous person trying to cause havoc. At the same time we need to be strategic in planning what are our vulnerabilities"
For Singapore, Minister K Shanmugam said the country needs to adopt a more proactive strategy to anticipate and neutralise emerging threats.
Mr Shanmugam said: "We have decided there needs to be a national level organisation that really looks at it holistically and brings all the different public sector areas together and focus intensely on key infrastructure like power, water supplies, communication. These are areas prone to attack.
"The people in charge of promoting these services will definitely look at security but it is good to have an agency that is solely focused on the security aspects and looks across sectors."
The new government agency will also enhance Singapore's planning, preparedness and response against any major external cyber attack.
The Singapore government will not be working alone in the area of enhancing the national IT infrastructure security.
It will also be working closely with the private sector in organising cyber security briefings and exercises so that both sides can exchange ideas to further enhance the cyber defence capabilities.
Mr Shanmugam continued: "Let's take a scenario where you actually have an attack. Many of the infrastructure are controlled by the private sector and you will need the private sector professionals to come and help. You can't be doing it for the first time when you are under attack.
"You need to bring them earlier, prepare your lines, harden the targets and then make sure you are able to react in case an attack comes about. So we need to work together."
So from next year, the Singapore Infocomm Technology Security Authority will conduct cyber security exercises on a regular basis so that gaps can be identified and the response to recover from such attacks can be improved. - CNA/vm
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