Police advise Sylvia Lim to file report over alleged phone hacking or hand over device for third-party forensic exam
The police have advised Workers' Party chair Sylvia Lim to file a police report or hand her mobile phone over for forensic examination, following her disclosure that her phone may have been hacked.
SINGAPORE — Workers' Party (WP) chairman Sylvia Lim has been advised to make a police report or hand her mobile phone in for a forensic examination by a third party, said the police in a press release on Saturday (Feb 19).
Their advice to Ms Lim comes after her disclosure in Parliament on Friday during a supplementary question to Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan that she had received a “threat warning” from tech company Apple informing her that her iPhone could be the subject of hacking by state sponsored attackers.
Ms Lim had also said that Apple had stated the threat was likely related to "who I am individually or what I do”.
Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam later on Friday told Ms Lim in Parliament that her phone had not been hacked by Singapore state agencies.
The police said in its statement that it was a "very serious allegation" and because of the potential implications on national security, Mr Shanmugam had asked the police to follow up with Ms Lim to look into the matter.
It added that if Ms Lim were to hand in her mobile phone for a forensic examination, Mr Shanmugam had directed the police to engage a commercial organisation with expertise in this field to conduct the examination, rather than the police itself.
"He has also directed that the police put in place a secure, auditable and transparent process to handle and examine her phone, from the point in time that Ms Lim hands over the phone, to its return to her," it said.
