Traffic summons backlog caused by ransomware attack, spike in violations: Shanmugam

SINGAPORE: A sharp rise in traffic violations and a ransomware attack on one of the Traffic Police’s external vendors mean motorists may wait about a month, rather than the usual two weeks, before the vehicle owner receives the initial notice in a speeding case, said Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.

In a written reply on Thursday (Nov 6) to a parliamentary question by MP Gerald Giam (WP-Aljunied), Mr Shanmugam said the traffic police typically take about two weeks to issue a Notice to Furnish Driver’s Particulars to the registered vehicle owner, after the officers have verified the offence and the vehicle number captured by the speed camera.

The process is aimed at minimising wrongful attribution of violations, said Mr Shanmugam.

He added: “There is, however, a backlog because of the sharp increase in traffic violations, and a recent ransomware attack against one of TP’s (traffic police) vendors.”

Mr Giam had asked about the average time taken for the traffic police to issue a summons after a speeding offence.

The opposition MP also asked what operational or administrative constraints might prevent the traffic police from immediately issuing a summons, and whether the Home Affairs Ministry will review its system to ensure timely summonses that deter repeat offences and prevent demerit point accumulation leading to licence suspension.

In April, the traffic police’s printing vendor Toppan Next Tech was hit by a ransomware attack, which led to an online leak of about 1,300 names and addresses.

There were 118,076 speeding violations in the first half of 2025, a 45.5 per cent jump from a year earlier.

The number of road traffic accidents resulting in injuries and fatalities also increased by 8.9 per cent to 3,818 in the first half of 2025, up from 3,507 in the same period in 2024.

Mr Shanmugam said the traffic police are working to address the backlog.