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