End users in Singapore must be taught better cyber hygiene

RECENT incidents of high profile cyber attacks, such as the one on the I-net network of the Ministry of Defence and the earlier one on StarHub's Internet broadband network, have ensured greater awareness of the importance of cybersecurity.

Despite this, there is still a feeling that this is a problem that doesn't concern individuals as such and is for the government or other relevant institutions to tackle. This is why it is so vitally important to inculcate the understanding among ordinary people, who are increasingly using digital services, that cybersecurity is everybody's problem as it can hurt individuals - through attacks such as ransomware and identity theft - just as it can cripple organisations. The cyber threats facing Singapore can be broadly categorised into three areas: cyber crime, cyber espionage and cyber attacks on critical infrastructure. With the Smart Nation being built up, the threat will only go up in the coming years. As the saying goes, cyber defence is as strong as its weakest link. Unsuspecting users must not become the weakest link in cases of cyber crime and cyber espionage. As technology gets more sophisticated, cyber criminals - and these include well organised criminal gangs as well as government-backed operators in certain cases - are using more intricate tools to infiltrate what could be regarded as already well defended networks.

Over the past few years, the Singapore government through the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and allied institutions such as the Defence Cyber Organisation of the Singapore Armed Force (SAF), as well as several local private sector efforts, has done well in building up the infrastructure and framework needed to tackle the increased cyber threats. The government plans to introduce the Cybersecurity Bill by the end of 2017 with the law coming into force in stages.