Opinion
SingCERTS might serve its purposes better by focusing on Singapore
According to reports, the Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team (SingCERT) has issued an advisory in relation to a hacking incident at Facebook. On its web page, SingCERT professes that it was set up to facilitate the detection, resolution and prevention of cyber security related incidents on the Internet. On the face of things therefore, SingCERT is just doing its duty by issuing an advisory on Facebook. However, where was SingCERT when SingHealth was so dramatically and spectacularly hacked? Why issue an advisory on Facebook when it was unable to detect something that actually happened on home turf?
Secondly, where was SingCERT when the personal details of about 70,000 Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (Sias) members were hacked in 2013? In this incident, the Sias members were only notified about the breach 5 years after the hack! Where was SingCERT all this time? Is SingCERT still relevant after the occurrence of these cyber security breaches? Is it robust enough as a line of cyber defense for Singapore?
Judging from the fact that it took 5 years to even realise that Sias was hacked and that it seemed totally oblivious to the SingHealth hack, what is SingCERTS relevance in preventing cyber security threats? Is there an overlap between SingCERTs and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA)?Do we have too many agencies and departments set up doing the same thing thereby causing inefficiency, work duplication and a lack of ownership? In other words, each agency thinking that the other agency is doing something leading to no one doing anything.
Singapore wants to be a digital hub and a smart nation. However, being smart involves a lot more than setting up multiple agencies with fancy names doing God knows what. It is well and good for SingCERTS to issue an advisory on Facebook but to what extent does it help Singaporeans? Facebook has already in itself issued multiple statements. In that vein, SingCERT’s advisory on Facebook is completely superfluous. Why talk about Facebook when it couldn’t talk about what happened in its own backyard aka the SingHealth and Sias hacks!
What measures are agencies such as CSA and SingCERTS taking to prevent future hacks into Singapore? I note that the Committee of Inquiry (COI) is now underway to investigate the SingHealth hacking incident. Will it also cover the roles that should have been played by CSA and SingCERTS?
We don’t need agencies that report on events that others are already taking responsibility for. Facebook is already managing the situation and interfacing with its users directly. SingCERTS might serve its purposes better by focusing on Singapore.
-
Singapore1 week ago
Purported resignation message from Li Hongyi as Singpass director goes viral; GovTech yet to confirm authenticity
-
Community6 days ago
PAP MP Edward Chia: ‘Sanctions on Israel do not work’ when confronted by Holland-Bukit Timah resident
-
Singapore1 week ago
Lee Hsien Yang alleges rising repression and corruption in Singapore; government calls claims a ‘personal vendetta
-
Comments2 weeks ago
8World News anchor Zhang Haijie faces criticism for labelling Lee Hsien Yang as ‘unfilial son’
-
Politics2 weeks ago
Singapore govt accuses Lee Hsien Yang of creating ‘false urgency’ over 38 Oxley Road demolition
-
Opinion2 weeks ago
Where does Lee Hsien Loong stand on the future of 38 Oxley Road as the government revisits the issue?
-
Opinion2 weeks ago
Where is the iron in Lawrence Wong? Hiding from direct response to Lee Hsien Yang?
-
Politics1 week ago
Charles Yeo claims Singapore is seeking his extradition from UK; AGC remains silent