Hacking attacks are ‘nothing short of terrorism’ if it affects lives’: K Shanmugam

SINGAPORE — Hacking attacks are “nothing short of terrorism” if it affects people living in a world that is thoroughly dependent on information technology, Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said at a REACH dialogue today (Nov 20).

Speaking to students at the Singapore Institute of Management, Mr Shanmugam said hacking attacks are symbolic and will be taken seriously because of its intended consequences.

He was responding to a student’s question on why the Government appeared to be taking the recent hacking threats and attacks so seriously since there appeared to be little tangible damage.

Mr Shanmugam also laid out how the world relies on IT to manage power grids, air traffic control, hospitals and road traffic signals, and if the systems get hacked, would lead to accidents. “Everything you see revolves around IT,” he said.

Mr Shanmugam pointed out that many countries are looking at the issue of cyber security very seriously. While they talk about terrorism, he said, they also worry about other countries knocking out their IT systems.

Hacking incidents in Singapore started after an alleged member of hacking group Anonymous posted a threat online to knock out the island’s IT infrastructure if the government does not remove online licensing rules that were implemented in recent months.

Soon after, authorities found that hacking attempts occurred on government websites, and two of those attacks — on the Prime Minister’s Office and the Istana — were successful.

Mr Shanmugam’s comments today come after personal data of as many as 4,000 individuals were found to be extrapolated from the Singapore Art Museum website and leaked online.

The websites of 13 schools were also reportedly defaced today between 3.30pm and 5.00pm, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said in a statement. The MOE said the matter has been referred to the Police for investigation and they are working to restore the affected websites.