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| Mr. Masagos Zulkifl |
The
fight against Cybercrime has never been a work of individual alone or specific
group of people. Joining hands is strongly recommended to win the fight –
Cybercrimes have no borders and the impact that we see today is very high
compared to the past few years. "MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES" have recently showed a
great example not forgetting European Union with its Cybersecurity framework.
In Singapore, the Government hopes to work
more closely with the private and education sectors to set up effective early
warning systems and prevent cyber-attacks, according to Senior Minister of
State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Masagos Zulkifli.
"We
have to build robust information and intelligence sharing channels which we can
tap on to put in place effective early warning systems." – Said Masagos.
The
theme of this year’s GovWare conference is "Strengthening the Cyber
Security Ecosystem". More than 70 local and global speakers from the
academia, industry and government are set to attend the event, which also
features selected projects by tertiary students.
EXHIBITORS
DEMONSTRATE NEW PRODUCTS
More
than 80 exhibitors were also invited to this year's GovWare Conference, which
is touted as an opportunity for the public sector to interact with companies to
find out more about their latest products.
In
time to come, some of these products and services may be rolled out in
Singapore.
Some
of the exhibits at this year's event include banking tokens that are able to
tell if a computer has been hacked, and a machine that adds security features
to passports.
The
banking token is a two-step authentication tool. Before an online banking
transaction takes place, data is sent to the token for a second confirmation.
If all is well, the transacted amount will be displayed on the token.
However,
if a different amount is displayed, its makers say the transaction could have
been tampered with, and that the computer has been hacked. There are also plans
to expand its use.
"We
do a lot of transactions with the Government where we are using the SingPass,
where effectively we don't have any authentication. I think this could be a
very good device - especially when we're living in a mobile devices age,"
Director of Image Engine Mr Chong Chung Chin said.
Secur
Solutions Group, which offers a passport printing service, has also been in
touch with the authorities. Among its security features is a unique laser image
which the company says cannot be replicated using other machines.
Secur
Solutions Group CEO Mr Tseng Wun Hsiung said the company has "a number of
security features" that a few governments are using.
"We
are actually sharing a lot of this information with the authorities for the
evaluation of Singapore's next generation of passports," he said.
Mr
Tseng also showed Channel NewsAsia a "perso curve", which is engraved
on the first page of a passport, containing the owner's personal information.
"It
actually takes personal information from the enrolment process and through a
mathematical algorithm we're able to laser engrave this specific image onto the
passport," he said.
UPCOMING
CYBER SECURITY FACILITIES
With
its high rate of Internet connectivity, Singapore - which is is working towards
building the world's first Smart Nation - is susceptible to cyber threats, Mr
Masagos said.
He
listed several facilities in Singapore that will help to boost the island’s
cyber security.
The
National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which was set up in 2011 and began
operations in April this year, maintains cyber situational awareness and
coordinates with third parties such as banks to deal with national-level cyber
threats.
The
Home Team Academy’s Cyber Security Lab, where law enforcers will be trained in
cyber security, will be ready by end-2014. Singapore will also be home to the
INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation around the same time.
Another
upcoming facility is Boeing's International Cyber Analytics Centre in
Singapore, which will work with the private, public and education sectors.
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