Really? So do you think Anonymous are worse than the PAP
and Anonymous is not treating the citizens well? To
you , is PAP much more worthy than Anonymous?
Are you very happy with the way PAP treat the citizens?
Have you come across any hackers out to fight the government?
If they ever come out to do it they won't be hackers
any more.
CYBER
THREATAGAINSTGOVT
It's an attack on you
COMMENT
BY
MELVIN SINGH
DEPUTY EDITOR
This is addressed to You, the silent
majority online who do little when netizens break laws.
Offline, it's a different story. When Jemaah
Islamiah's plans to attack infrastructure here were exposed in
2001, you reacted with disgust and concern.
But you are dismissive of online criminality. When
a hacker, named "The Messiah", loudly proclaimed his intention to
launch a cyberattack against the Government, you said little.
The few, including former journalist Bertha Henson
on website Breakfast Network, and a writer on The Real Singapore
portal, criticised the hacker's proclamations.
Others either distanced themselves from him without
condemning his intentions and worse, on socio-political website TR
Emeritus, egged him on and even thanked him for having the gumption
to do it.
You, the silent majority, think it's not your
business.
You might even believe "The Messiah" and criminals
like him should play judge, jury and executioner because the
Government has failed to meet your needs.
You might be tempted to believe he's attacking the
Singapore Government, not Singapore. That's naive.
This is him attacking you.
Last month, software company Adobe Systems was
hacked and information relating to millions of customers, including
encrypted credit or debit card numbers, were stolen.
Your credit card details.
A month earlier, in Israel, criminals launched a
cyberattack and immobilised a major road network, disabling key
operations for two days, resulting in hundreds of thousands of
dollars in damage.
That's you, in a traffic jam.
An attack on infrastructure here slows down
services and shakes confidence. More than 90 per cent of
government-related services are available online and computer
ownership and smartphone penetration are close to 100 per cent.
You live online. A cyberattack on the Government
infrastructure is an attack on your way of life.
So what can you do? The first step is easy - don't
encourage criminality.
When netizens launch personal attacks, don't "Live"
or forward the postings. Criminal defamation is a real crime.
When vitriol dominates and online vigilantes turn
into a mob that targets individuals, be the voice of calm.
In September, two US teenagers tormented a 12
year-old online until she jumped to her death. Both have since been
arrested and charged.
Next, support tough action against criminality.
Crime taking place online is still crime, not anti-social
behaviour.
But others need to voice their disapproval too. Law
enforcement agencies must also send a signal loud and clear.
The self-claimed "Messiah" had hacked into the City
Harvest Church website in September. A police report was made, but
there was no word on the action taken.
Subsequent police reports were made when he
continued his attacks on other sites. It is unclear if any action
has been taken.
Subsequent police reports were made when he
continued his attacks on other sites. It is unclear if any action
has been taken.
In the past, police action was swift and tough. In 2005,
the Sedition Act was used against two young bloggers who were
subsequently jailed for comments they made about Muslims.
In 2008, blogger and former Singaporean Gopalan
Nair was jailed for "threatening, abusing or insulting a public
servant".
Now it's largely police warnings, with one
exception last year. In a first, a former engineer was jailed two
months for an online posting inciting violence on National Day.
If you mollycoddle online criminality, people like
"The Messiah" will grow bolder and more defiant.
Show him, if he hacks, he will get whacked.
News. The New Paper, Saturday, November 2 2013, Pg 8
