The country’s ‘smart nation’ portal says ‘Data is the new currency, and with open data, the possibilities are endless!’

Singapore has long been pushing this island as a technology hub and the government is constantly championing greater use of technology in various sectors to increase efficiency.

Unfortunately, two major data breaches have tarnished Singapore’s tech-savvy image.

In 2018, Singapore’s health system suffered a cyberattack that compromised the data of 1.5 million people. Authorities say that the person behind that attack was targeting the medical records of PM Lee Hsien Loong who is a cancer survivor. The perpetrator has been identified and it’s been ascertained that the stolen personal data has not made its way onto the dark web.

In the second breach which was announced just this week (28 Jan), the Ministry of Health said that medical records of 14,2000 HIV positive individuals in the country had been illegally obtained in 2016 and were disclosed online recently.

The breach in 2016 was the doing of a US citizen working in Singapore at the time. The records he illegally downloaded from the HIV Registry with the help of a Singaporean doctor includes names, identification numbers, contact details, HIV test results, and relation information of Singaporeans who were diagnosed as recently as 2013 and 8,800 foreigners diagnosed up to December 2011.

The suspect, Micky K. Farrera Brochez, had reportedly tested positive for HIV in 2008 using a fake passport from the Bahamas shortly after arriving in Singapore. The authorities say that Mr Brochez’s fooled the HIV tests in order to hold on to his employment pass with the help of his Singaporean partner Ler Teck Siang who was a senior official with the Health Ministry. Apparently, Ler use his own blood sample when Singaporean authorities tested Mr Brochez for HIV, twice.

In Singapore, foreigners who are HIV positive are not allowed to work in the country. It’s understood that Mr Brochez was attempting to circumvent that law. He was convicted in 2017 for several offences including lying to labour officials about his HIV status and providing false information to the police.

He was sentenced to 28 months in prison and then later deported. He’s no longer residing in Singapore. His partner was sentences to 24 months in prison for abetting cheating and providing false information to the authorities. Ler is currently appealing the conviction.

A gastroenterologist at Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Center, Dr Desmon Wai, told the New York Times that these cyberattack illustrates just how vulnerable the country’s electronic records are. However, he said that he does feel it wasn’t entirely fair to blame the Health Ministry for the second breach as it would be difficult to restrict a senior health officials’ access to the government’s HIV registry.

Even so, he added that Ler should not have had such wide access and the ability to download the data in the first place.

On Monday, the Health Ministry apologized for “the anxiety and distress caused by this incident” and said it had been contacting those affected by the breach. The ministry also said it would “continue to regularly review our systems to ensure that they remain secure and that the necessary safeguards are in place.”

These breaches highlight the potential snares for Singapore’s push to make data more accessible and centralised. To the benefits justify the risks to privacy and can anyone prevent senior officials from misusing their access to confidential information?

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

New Zealand govt to consider if pre-departure COVID-19 testings from India can be trusted

It was reported in the NZ media last Wed (31 Mar) that…

国防部网安事故:黄永宏称将加强对供应商监管框架

上月21日,国防部和武装部队的服务供应商电脑系统遭恶意软件入侵,导致人员资料面对外泄风险。 对此,国防部长黄永宏医生在本月6日的国会,答复议员提问时表示将加强对供应商的监管系统,采取网络安全分层框架,包括定期审查供应商,确保较敏感的数据能够得以保存。 他补充,国防部在事发前已采取一些保护措施,如在新合约加入个人资料保护条款,以及供应商将条款逐步纳入现有合约中。 但针对网络安全分层框架,当局并未有更多细节透露。 上月,国防部和武装部队的服务供应商电脑系统遭恶意软件入侵,两家供应商新康国际卫生科学院(HMI Institute)以及新科物流均受影响,其系统存有12万人员的个资,包括9万8000名国防部或武装部队人员的全名、身份证号。此外,还有新康国际其余客户的全名、身份证号、电邮、生日日期和住址等个资。 新康国际声称在发现软件的恶意攻击后立即切断网络,并让科技公司进行调查,而国防网络署署长陈庆利准则表示,国防部和武装部队的系统和运作均不受影响,但却存在泄漏人员各自和隐私,因此承诺将加强供应商的网安标准,确保人员个资的安全。

工人党公布宣传短片 佘雪玲、李丽连等女将露面

续昨日发布预告短片,揭露12张工人党成员面孔后,今日该党发布宣传片,由该党成员阐述他们参与工人党的看法。 依序出现在短片镜头的,就包括:阿裕尼集选区原议员毕丹星、林瑞莲、原非选区议员陈立峰、拉依萨(Raeesah Khan)、佘雪玲、榜鹅东区前议员李丽连、Jamus Lim、法德利(Fadli Fawzi)、罗秀雯、育滴提拉(Yudhishthra Nathan)符策涫和贝理安。 短片12人中,包括林瑞莲在内就有五名女将,不过,四名工人党原议员却没出现在短片内,包括刘程强、陈硕茂和费沙,以及后港选区原议员方荣发。不过尚未知该党会否进一步揭露该党排兵布阵。 李丽连2006年6月加入工人党,在2013年榜鹅东补选代表该党参选并胜选,不幸在2015年大选落败。不过近期她积极协助毕丹星处理友诺士区事务。 佘雪玲则曾在2011年大选,代表国民团结党出征马林百列集选区,当时年仅24岁的她就立即备受选民瞩目,成为选举中的人气王之一。2017年初,就开始协助工人党走访东海岸集选区。 罗秀雯则在上届选举,则在上届选举代表工人党出战义顺集选区。 至于27虽的拉依萨,则是女权组织“Reyna Movement”的创办人,但她在短片中也分享,自己协助工人党聆听居民心声,了解居民面对的问题。

Singaporean spots state flag in bin, removes it and educates cleaner on proper handling

Sathiyaselan Sivalingam was surprised when he saw the Singapore flag sticking out of a…