Security News

Singapore's governmental digital services arm, GovTech, has launched a "Rewards programme" to further crowdsource tests of the nation's cybersecurity. The Vulnerability Rewards Programme joins the Government Bug Bounty Programme and the Vulnerability Disclosure Programme, all of which work alongside the government's own security checks.

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore today released data revealing that cybercrime accounted for 43 per cent of all crime in the city-state during 2020. Ransomware attacks rose 154 per cent from 35 cases in 2019 to 89 in 2020, shifting from what CSA called "Indiscriminate, opportunistic attacks" to "Big Game Hunting".

Singapore has made its Bluetooth-powered "TraceTogether" contact-tracing app its preferred means of recording movements in public spaces across the island. The nation's effort, "TraceTogether" used Bluetooth to detect the proximity of other users, recorded such interactions and allowed contact with users in the event they had come into contact with a COVID-carrier.

KPMG in Singapore was the first big four firm to offer RelativityOne in Asia and is the first Relativity partner to offer RelativityOne in Singapore, demonstrating its commitment to expand cloud capabilities in the region. Through the deployment of RelativityOne, KPMG in Singapore enables member firms across Asia to tap into the platform, supporting enhanced end-to-end technology solutions involving e-discovery and internal investigations for clients.

Netskope announced the expansion of the Netskope NewEdge network to a new data center in Singapore. Serving millions of enterprise users around the world, Netskope NewEdge is a carrier-grade private cloud network that is reserved exclusively for Netskope customers.

Singapore has admitted data collected for contact-tracing can be accessed by police despite earlier assurances it would only be used to fight the coronavirus, sparking privacy concerns Tuesday about the scheme. A senior official admitted in parliament that police could "Obtain any data" - including information gathered through the contact-tracing programme - in the course of a criminal investigation.

The Singapore government has decided to use data gathered by its TraceTogether COVID-19-coronavirus contact-tracing app in criminal investigations. Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan replied by saying that Singapore's Criminal Procedure Code means its Police can obtain any data for criminal investigations, including data gathered by TraceTogether.

Singapore will become the world's first country to use facial verification in its national ID scheme, but privacy advocates are alarmed by what they say is an intrusive system vulnerable to abuse. The technology captures a series of photos of a person's face in various lights.

A UK government minister has called for the country to "Shape the standards of new technology" in a speech aimed at drumming up Commonwealth support for a cyber "Leadership" role for post-Brexit Britain. Foreign Office minister James Cleverly told an invited audience at Singapore's International Cyber Week: "We must shape the standards of new technology to ensure individual security, safety and privacy," while pointing to "The rapidly expanding Internet of Things" as "a good example of where the UK and Singapore have both led initiatives to promote security in design."

The deputy chief executive of Singapore's Cyber Security Agency, Brigadier General Gaurav Keerthi, says the island nation now considers providing a secure environment to citizens and businesses the equivalent of providing fresh water and sewerage services, and will next week improve digital hygiene with a voluntary "Cybersecurity Labelling Scheme" that will rate consumer broadband gateways. Speaking at the Black Hat Asia conference in Singapore today, Keerthi explained that it's his job to defend Singapore from cyber-threats.