The Lion City could look into increasing secure server capacity as a preventive measure.
In spite of global recognition hailing its cybersecurity frameworks as one of the world’s most advanced, Singapore still fell victim to an unprecedented cyberattack last June, calling attention to the associated risks involved with the government’s dedicated Smart Nation drive.
A massive cyber attack at national health database SingHealth, where the personal information of 1.5 million individuals including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong were illegally accessed, has been widely touted as the country’s largest data breach in history.
Also read: Communications minister says SingHealth attack typical of state-linked groups
espite notable strength in comparison with regional peers, Singapore’s status as a financial hub and attractive investment destination serves as a magnet for high-profile hackers,” BMI Research said in an earlier report.
Days after the SingHealth breach, the Securities Investors Association reported that data on 70,000 members were stolen in 2013. In February 2017, the defense ministry disclosed a major hacking incident involving the personal data theft of 850 employees which was said to have been done with the goal of obtaining strategic government information.
Although the government was lauded quickly for its swift action to contain the fallout after temporarily imposing internet surfing separation in SingHealth’s IT systems and resetting user and system accounts, damaging security concerns have already started to weigh in on business sectors that handle a wealth of customer information on a daily basis.
Also read: MAS warns stolen SingHealth data could be used in bank fraud
“Insurance companies, financial services, ride-hailing, bike-sharing are some examples, but almost every single industry which collects data are suspect,” Kenny Liew, telecommunications analyst at Fitch Solutions told Singapore Business Review.
The city state’s banks are another highly vulnerable sector as lenders all but lack a target on their backs with state-built digital repository platform MyInfo which allows Singaporeans to automatically key in information for e-forms, remaining a key prey for malicious cyber identities.
In 2015-2016, Singapore banks also became the top targets of the Tinba v3 Trojan cybercriminals, accounting for over a third (36%) of attacks, according to BMI Research.
This is because such data that can explain movement and spending behaviour are highly valuable in shady dealings as they can be sold to companies or parties that can in turn monetise the insights and improve on their goods and services, suggested Liew.
