The Straits Times 22 Feb 2019
In a significant upgrade of its national security vision,
Singapore will introduce digital defence as the sixth pillar of its Total
Defence framework. The move represents a substantial addition to the security
calculus whose trajectory has helped ensure the country's security, unity and
independence. Indeed, its singularity is emphasised by the fact that this is
the first time that a new pillar has been added to the framework which launched
35 years ago. In a move that should also buttress the sixth pillar, the
Ministry of Defence is on a recruitment drive for cyber-security specialists.
The five original pillars of Total Defence are
comprehensive: military defence is meant to defend Singapore when it is
attacked or to deter foreign intervention; civil defence involves taking care
of family, friends and other people in times of crisis; economic defence
focuses on the need to create an economy that is robust enough to sustain
Singapore through challenges and national emergencies; social defence seeks to
enlarge the space of harmony among people of all races and religions; and
psychological defence underscores the importance of the willed resilience of
Singaporeans that is crucial in overcoming a crisis.
But clearly, the need for digital defence today is as
compelling as these efforts to buttress Singapore's security and well-being.
And while the Ministry of Defence's recruitment move is timely, the threats in
today's world go beyond military action into the online sphere and involve
national concerns in the digital sphere. Globally, there are concerted and
often coordinated attempts, notably by state actors, to use disinformation to
influence people's thinking and actions through the placement and broadcast of
carefully packaged fake news. There are also attempts to hack into national,
parliamentary and party political computer systems. Singapore's experience of
digital breaches has been telling. It is highlighted by last year's cyber
attack on SingHealth which compromised the personal information of 1.5 million
patients, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and the recent leak of
details from the HIV Registry. Malicious malware and fake news might not appear
to be hard threats like invasion or terrorism, but their effects can be as
deadly.
Digital attacks can cripple entire systems while fake news
can cause distrust and riots. The first step towards security lies therefore in
public awareness of the reality of digital vulnerability. As with the
traditional pillars of Total Defence, which involve the public playing their
part, the latest pillar will be strong only to the extent that ordinary
Singaporeans take it seriously. Members of the public must play their part in
distinguishing between what is real and what is fake information so as to
decide what to pass on to others via e-mail or phone messages. Since
disinformation can be lethal, every citizen is a soldier in the digital war.
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