Threat is 'very serious
matter'
HIDING BEHIND A
MASK: A screengrab of the video posted
purportedly by computer hacker group Anonymous.
PICTURE: YOUTUBE
Report by RONALD LOH
A video purportedly by computer hacker group Anonymous
has threatened the Singapore Government with "an aggressive cyber
intrusion" if it did not remove its internet licensing
framework.
The 3-minute 42-second video was uploaded on The Real
Singaporean website.
It was first posted on Youtube on Oct 29, but has
since been removed by the user. As of 8.45pm yesterday, the video
had garnered over 700 comments, 2,400 likes and over 4,800 people
had shared it.
The video is still available on The Real Singapore
website and Facebook page.
It showed an unidentified person - dressed in black
and a Guy Fawkes mask - claiming to represent Anonymous.
The video is narrated with what is believed to be a
computerised voiceover, protesting against the Government's new
licensing rules imposed on news websites.
The new framework, introduced in June, states that
websites with more than 50,000 Singapore visitors a month and
carrying more than one news story per week must obtain an
individual licence. This entails putting up a $50,000 performance
bond.
"We demand you reconsider the regulations of your
framework or we will be forced to go to war with you," says the
person in the video.
While it remains to be seen how genuine the video
is, cybersecurity experts The New Paper spoke to said it was a very
serious matter.
Network security company Fortinet's regional
director for South-east Asia and Hong Kong, Mr Eric Chan, said: "We
can't tell if it's real or not, but we should not ignore it.
"In principle, it is possible to break through as
system depending on the time, effort and resources you have.
"At the same, anyone can claim link to Anonymous
since the group is very fragmented... and there are no fixed
patterns between members."
TRACKING
Mr Alex Nian, manager of SecurityIT-NET, said: "Normally when
(hackers) do this sort of thing, they are going through an open
proxy server. It will be hard to track if they are overseas.
"But if they're doing it from Singapore, it would
be easy for the authorities to find them."
Criminal lawyer Foo Cheow Ming said: "Such videos
proclaiming war against the Government actually contravene the
penal code, and the possible penalty is death."
The Infocomm Development Authority Singapore said
it is aware of the video and that the people are investigating the
matter, Today reported.
Additional reporting by MATTHAEUS CHOO and WONG CONG
XU
News, The New Paper, Friday, November 1 2013, Pg 4
