Latest news with #KShanmugam
France 24
18 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
Singapore military helps battle cyberattack: minister
Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said these select units will work with the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) in a united government response to the threat, local media reported. Chan described the cyberattack as "one example of the emerging threats" that the military has to handle, the reports said. There have been no reported breaches so far. Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam first disclosed the attack late Friday, describing it as a type of Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) that poses a serious danger to the city-state. An APT refers to a cyberattack in which an intruder establishes and maintains unauthorised access to a target, remaining undetected for a sustained period of time. "I can say that it is serious and it is ongoing. And it has been identified to be UNC3886," Shanmugam said, referring to the alleged attackers. Shanmugam, who is also home affairs minister, did not elaborate in his speech on the group's sponsors or the origin of the attack. But Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant described UNC3886 as a "highly adept China-nexus cyber espionage group". APT actors typically steal sensitive information and disrupt essential services, such as healthcare, telecoms, water, transport and power, Shanmugam said. "If it succeeds, it can conduct espionage and it can cause major disruption to Singapore and Singaporeans," he added. 'Stealthy opponents' A successful breach of Singapore's power system, for example, could wreak havoc with the electricity supply, with knock-on effects on essential services, such as healthcare and transport. "There are also economic implications. Our banks, airports and industries would not be able to operate. Our economy can be substantially affected," Shanmugam said. Between 2021 and 2024, suspected APTs against Singapore increased more than fourfold. A cyber breach of a public healthcare cluster in 2018 accessed the medication records of about 160,000 patients, including then prime minister Lee Hsien Loong. Beijing's embassy in Singapore on Saturday expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with media reports linking UNC3886 to China. In a statement, the embassy said it "firmly opposes any unwarranted smearing of China" and that "in fact, China is one of the main victims of cyberattacks". The statement added: "China firmly opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with the law. China does not encourage, support, or condone hacking activities." Asked by reporters Saturday about the link between UNC3886 and China, The Straits Times newspaper quoted Shanmugam as saying: "As far as the Singapore government is concerned, we can say we are confident that it is this particular organisation. Who they are linked to, and how they operate, is not something I want to go into." Information Minister Josephine Teo said in a Facebook post Saturday that the alleged attacker was publicly named because it was "important for Singaporeans to know where the attack is coming from and what the potential consequences will be". The attack on Singapore's critical infrastructure "highlights the extraordinary challenges posed by APT actors," said Satnam Narang, senior staff research engineer at US-based cybersecurity firm Tenable. "Combating such stealthy opponents is becoming increasingly demanding as the scale and complexity of IT infrastructure that organisations and nations must defend continues to grow," he said.
France 24
a day ago
- Business
- France 24
Singapore facing 'serious' cyberattack by espionage group with alleged China ties
Singapore is dealing with a "serious" cyberattack against its critical infrastructure by a highly sophisticated entity linked by industry experts to China, the country's coordinating minister for national security said. The attack, part of a sophisticated level of cyber hacks called advanced persistent threats (APTs), poses a serious danger to Singapore and could undermine national security, K. Shanmugam disclosed in a speech late on Friday. "I can say that it is serious and it is ongoing. And it has been identified to be UNC3886," said Shanmugam, who is also the home affairs minister. Shanmugam did not disclose the group's sponsors, but UNC3886 has been pinpointed by Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm owned by Google, as a China-linked cyber espionage group involved in global attacks. "Even as we speak, UNC3886 is attacking our critical infrastructure right now," he said, adding that Singapore's Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and relevant authorities were dealing with the problem. APTs are highly sophisticated and well-resourced actors that typically steal sensitive information and disrupt essential services such as healthcare, telecom, water, transport and power, Shanmugam said. "If it succeeds, it can conduct espionage and it can cause major disruption to Singapore and Singaporeans," Shanmugam warned. A successful breach of Singapore's power system, for example, could disrupt electricity supply and have knock-on effects on essential services such as healthcare and transport. "There are also economic implications. Our banks, airports and industries would not be able to operate. Our economy can be substantially affected," he said. He said that between 2021 and 2024, suspected APTs against Singapore increased more than fourfold. A cyber breach on a public healthcare cluster in 2018 accessed the medication records of about 160,000 patients, including then-prime minister Lee Hsien Loong. On Saturday, China's embassy in Singapore expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with media reports linking UNC3886 to China. In a statement, the embassy said it "firmly opposes any unwarranted smearing of China" and that "in fact, China is one of the main victims of cyberattacks". The statement added: "China firmly opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with the law. China does not encourage, support, or condone hacking activities." The attack on Singapore's critical infrastructure "highlights the extraordinary challenges posed by APT actors," said Satnam Narang, senior staff research engineer at US-based cybersecurity firm Tenable. "Combating such stealthy opponents is becoming increasingly demanding as the scale and complexity of IT infrastructure that organisations and nations must defend continues to grow," he said.
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Singapore flags ‘serious threat' from suspected Chinese hackers targeting critical infrastructure
SINGAPORE, July 19 — Singapore said yesterday that it was responding to cyberattacks on its critical infrastructure by an espionage group alleged by security experts to be linked to China. 'UNC3886 poses a serious threat to us, and has the potential to undermine our national security,' Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam said in a speech. 'It is going after high value strategic threat targets, vital infrastructure that delivers essential services.' He did not give details of the attacks, citing security risks, nor of any consequences. Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant has described UNC3886 as a 'China-nexus espionage group' that has attacked defence, technology and telecommunications organizations in the US and Asia. Beijing routinely denies any allegations of cyberespionage, and says it opposes all forms of cyberattacks and is in fact a victim of such threats. The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent after office hours. Singapore's critical infrastructure sectors include energy, water, banking, finance, healthcare, transport, government, communication, media, as well as security and emergency services, according to the country's cyber agency. Reuters earlier this week reported that the Taiwanese semiconductor industry and investment analysts had been targeted by Chinese-linked hackers as part of a string of cyber espionage campaigns. — Reuters
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Singapore says cyber espionage group targeting critical infrastructure
SINGAPORE, July 18 (Reuters) - Singapore said on Friday that it was responding to cyberattacks on its critical infrastructure by an espionage group alleged by security experts to be linked to China. "UNC3886 poses a serious threat to us, and has the potential to undermine our national security,' Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam said in a speech. "It is going after high value strategic threat targets, vital infrastructure that delivers essential services." He did not give details of the attacks, citing security risks, nor of any consequences. Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant has described UNC3886 as a "China-nexus espionage group" that has attacked defense, technology and telecommunications organizations in the U.S. and Asia. Beijing routinely denies any allegations of cyberespionage, and says it opposes all forms of cyberattacks and is in fact a victim of such threats. The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent after office hours. Singapore's critical infrastructure sectors include energy, water, banking, finance, healthcare, transport, government, communication, media, as well as security and emergency services, according to the country's cyber agency. Reuters earlier this week reported that the Taiwanese semiconductor industry and investment analysts had been targeted by Chinese-linked hackers as part of a string of cyber espionage campaigns.
CNA
2 days ago
- Politics
- CNA
Adam Peckman and Ken Soh on cybersecurity threats
Coordinating Minister for National Security and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam says Singapore is under cyber attack. The sophisticated group behind the attack is known as UNC3886. In light of the current attack, Mr Shanmugam has called for Singapore to strengthen its cyber defences, adding that authorities will be updating the Cybersecurity Act to get more powers in order to deal with such threats. Adam Peckman, global head of cyber consulting and head of cyber solutions in Asia Pacific at Aon, and Ken Soh, Chair of SGTech's Cyber Security Chapter, discuss the foreign cyber threats that Singapore is facing and how businesses and individuals can safeguard against them.
