SINGAPORE: A bill aimed at strengthening the protection of computer systems providing essential services against cyber-attacks passed in Parliament on Monday (Feb 5).

Under the Cybersecurity Bill, owners of computer systems directly involved in the provision of essential services for national security, defence, foreign relations, economy, public health, public safety or public order will have to report cybersecurity incidents related to these systems, and comply with other statutory obligations .

The owners of these systems – called Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) – have to comply with codes of practice and standards of performance, conduct cybersecurity audits and risk assessments, and participate in cybersecurity exercises under the Bill.

No action will be taken against CII owners for cybersecurity breaches if they comply with their obligations, Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim said during the second reading of the Bill on Monday (Feb 5). However, non-compliance will be an offence that will entail a maximum penalty of S$100,000, two years in jail, or both, he said.

The Bill also authorises the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) to prevent and respond to cybersecurity threats and incident.

The chief executive of the CSA will be appointed as the Commissioner of Cybersecurity to administer the Bill. The Bill allows the Commissioner to designate as a CII any computer or computer system that is necessary for the continuous delivery of an essential service.

LICENSING FRAMEWORK FOR TWO SERVICES

The Bill also prescribes a licensing framework, which will apply to providers of two types of cybersecurity services- penetration testing and managed security operations centre monitoring.

“These providers have access to sensitive information from their clients, and the services are also relatively mainstream in our market, and hence have a significant impact on the overall cybersecurity landscape,” Dr Yaacob said.

The requirement will not apply to in-house work, and providing licensable services to related companies, he said. Failure to get a licence for a licensable service will mean a maximum penalty of S$50,000 fine, two years in jail, or both.

For a start, the licensing framework will be “light-touch” as this is a new initiative and  there is a need to strike a good balance between industry development and cybersecurity needs, Dr Yaacob said.

In explaining the need for legislation in cybersecurity, Dr Yaacob pointed to a debilitating impact on the economy and society caused by cyber-attacks in other countries. 

He gave the example of how the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) had to cancel at least 6,900 appointments due to the “WannaCry” ransomware attack., and how the hacking of power grids in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, led to power disruptions that affected more than  200,000 citizens during winter.

MPs RAISE QUESTIONS ON PRIVACY, COST OF COMPLIANCE

MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Saktiandi Supaat said some people hold reservations that the authorities, while conducting their investigations, would intrude on personal privacy. He asked if there are there safeguards in place for the broad investigation powers to ensure that there is no misuse in authority, whether unintentional or not.

MP for Aljunied GRC Pritam Singh noted that the Bill gives the Commissioner and any authorized officer the power to take, remove or make copies of a hard disk, even if it is only to assess the impact or potential impact of a cybersecurity threat.

He asked what qualifies as an incident major enough for such powers to be exercised “so that the House is assured the Commissioner’s powers will be used very judiciously and not against government critics and individuals”.

Responding to  similar questions by several MPs, Dr Yaacob said: “Let me assure the House that the powers under the Bill are not intended to intrude into privacy,” adding that the measures and requirements are mainly technical, operational or procedural in nature.

For example, CII owners may be required to implement network perimeter defence devices such as firewalls, or to perform regular vulnerability scanning of their systems to identify potential loopholes. These measures are non-intrusive with respect to personal privacy, he said.

MPs also asked about costs that will be incurred by companies implementing cybersecurity measures. MP for West Coast GRC Patrick Tay asked if there any measures in place to ensure that the cost of compliance with CII requirements do not trickle down extensively to the consumer.

Dr Yaacob said that many owners of CIIs have put in place cybersecurity measures arising from regulations within their sectors.

There will be cost implications for some CII owners who will have to strengthen the cybersecurity posture of their computer systems to meet the requirements of the  Bill, Dr Yaacob said.

However, while the Government will  work with sector regulators to streamline the cybersecurity audit and incident reporting processes in order to harmonise cybersecurity requirements under the Bill in the respective sectors wherever possible, no funding will be provided, he said.

“If organisations follow good security-by-design practices, they will spend less overall in the long-run to fix cybersecurity issues,” he said.

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s and China’s armies will step up bilateral defence cooperation, Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said on Monday (Feb 5). 

Chinese Minister of National Defense General Chang Wanquan is in Singapore for an official defence visit from Sunday to Thursday. 

In a press release, MINDEF said Gen Chang was received by Singapore Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen at MINDEF on Monday morning with a Guard of Honour. 

During their meeting, Gen Chang proposed to deepen army cooperation through the conduct of Exercise Cooperation in 2018 to 2019, and navy cooperation through port calls and other “mutually beneficial interactions”. He also invited MINDEF and the Singapore Armed Forces leadership to visit China. 

MINDEF said Dr Ng accepted Gen Chang’s invitation to this year’s Xiangshan Forum in September 2018. He also welcomed high-level visits from China’s People’s Liberation Army to Singapore.

According to the press release, both ministers also discussed regional security issues and agreed on the need to have open and inclusive security architectures. 

Gen Chang conveyed China’s support for Singapore’s ASEAN Chairmanship, affirming that China would work with Singapore to deepen ASEAN-China relations, MINDEF said. 

He also conveyed his appreciation for the role that Singapore, as the ASEAN-China country coordinator, has played to improve defence ties between China and ASEAN, it added. 

MINDEF said in the press release that Gen Chang’s visit “underscores the warm and friendly bilateral defence relations between Singapore and China”. 

In a Facebook post on Monday afternoon, Dr Ng said he was “happy and honoured” to host Gen Chang, whom he referred to as his “good friend”. 

“I was very touched when he said to me during this visit, ‘Coming to Singapore, is not like going away, but visiting good friends in the same town’,” he wrote in the post. 

In addition to visits to the SAF army and navy units, Gen Chang was hosted to lunch by Second Minister for Defence Ong Ye Kung and to dinner by Dr Ng.

As part of his visit programme, Gen Chang will call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and be hosted to breakfast by Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean. Gen Chang and Dr Ng will also co-chair the ASEAN-China Defence Ministers’ Informal Meeting on Tuesday, according to MINDEF. 

SINGAPORE: Smoke was seen rising from an escalator at Ang Mo Kio MRT station leading to the underground linkway to AMK Hub on Monday afternoon (Feb 5).

In a statement to the media, SMRT vice president for corporate communications Margaret Teo said the transport operator is investigating the incident. The escalator has been shut down and the linkway closed “for commuter safety”, she said, adding that train services on the North-South Line are not affected. 

Eyewitness Pan Zhengxiang told Channel NewsAsia that he saw smoke rising suddenly from the escalator some time between 1.30pm and 2pm. 

“Many were still using the escalator initially,” he said. “The public later helped raise awareness of the situation … so (people can) avoid the escalator.” 

Fire engines from the Singapore Civil Defence Force were also seen parked outside the MRT station. 

Channel NewsAsia understands that SMRT technicians are on-site. 

This is a developing story. Details to come. 

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SINGAPORE: The circumstances of when a permit is required to call for signatures in areas outside Speakers’ Corner for the purposes of a parliamentary petition are “fact-sensitive”, said Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Home Affairs Amrin Amin.

He was responding to a question from Workers’ Party Member of Parliament (MP) Pritam Singh in parliament on Monday (Feb 5). Referring to such incidents outside of Speakers’ Corner, Mr Singh asked how the police exercises its discretion in requiring some calls for signatures for the purposes of a petition to go ahead without a permit, while requiring a permit in other instances.

Mr Amrin added that when a permit is or is not required is “clearly set out in the provisions”, and that the police will “generally act on information received and conduct investigations before deciding what actions to take”.

Mr Singh also asked whether the police will “favourably consider” an application to collect signatures for the purposes of a parliamentary petition on any given matter in a public place.

He  asked how and at which public venues other than Speakers’ Corner citizens legally make arrangements to sign such a petition. Mr Singh added that a parliamentary petition requires a physical signature. 

Mr Amrin, said that those who wish to hold such events outside the Speakers’ Corner will have to apply for a permit. He asked that Mr Singh file a separate parliamentary question if there are particular incidents “so we can look deeply into the issue and give a comprehensive response”.

In response, Mr Singh referred to a petition regarding the now-closed Sungei Road flea market, in which he said the police did not intervene. Nominated MP Kok Heng Leun in July last year submitted a petition seeking an alternative location for the iconic market, popularly referred to as Thieves’ Market, in Parliament a week before it was set to close on Jul 10.

Mr Amrin then again encouraged Mr Singh to file a separate parliamentary question on the Sungei Road issue.