New IT Security Authority to safeguard Singapore against
cyber threats
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's 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