‘Leaders must be able to take criticism, acknowledge mistakes’: PM Lee

[NotMyPresident]

Did PM Lee predict the massive Singhealth data hack four years ago?


By Jewel Stolarchuk -

July 24, 2018

As public uproar over the massive Singhealth data breach rages on, some have pointed out that Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong may have predicted what has become the biggest data hack in the nation’s history, four years ago.

In launching the Smart Nation Programme in 2014, PM Lee made certain remarks about the state of cyber-security in Singapore that seem quite curious in the aftermath of the Singhealth data hack that has affected at least 1.5 million patients, whose personal information and medical records have been stolen.

PM Lee and his predecessor, now-Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, are among the victims of the data breach which was revealed to the public about half a month after it was discovered.

Hearkening to his National Day Rally speech in 2014, PM Lee spoke about why it is imperative that Singapore adopts ‘smart nation’ initiatives to keep itself ahead of the competition. Specifically citing the extensive patient database employed in local hospitals, PM Lee said that this database is among the best in the world and is one of the early initiatives that the Government has taken on in its journey to transform Singapore into a smart nation.

He then promised to strengthen IT security measures and assured the audience that he will ensure that sensitive information like medical data is not stolen and will be protected against hacker attacks. Asserting that he will take a personal interest in the Smart Nation Programme, the head of government said:

“It is vital that we have secure systems that we can trust, not just preventing credit card numbers from being stolen, but protecting ourselves from malicious attacks where there is hacking or Distributed Denial of Service attacks, you know what that is.

“Whether is it malware that infects our computers which steals sensitive information or possibly threatens critical infrastructure if it gets into the hospital IT systems, patients can die, if it gets into our power system, our power grid can be brought down, if it gets into our airport system, we can have a very serious problem.”

PM Lee, however, admitted that he does not think cyber security duties are as strong as the Government would like to be. Acknowledging that Singapore’s cyber systems “will never be completely impregnable,” PM Lee promised that his Government will undertake measures to raise cyber security levels here:

“…it is not a laughing matter, we take it seriously; we already have cyber security duties residing in Ministry of Home Affairs and the Infocomm Development Authority. But I do not think that they are as strong as we would like them to be.

“We need to reorganise them, to strengthen our system and our institutions. We are studying how best to do that, to protect our Government systems, including the Smart Nation sensor systems, against cyber-attacks. But also outside the Government, other critical systems like in telecoms, banking and energy sectors.

“You will never be completely impregnable, but I think we need to be secure and as safe as we can be. That means within the Government we need the system and outside the Government we must reach out to the companies and individuals, to raise your security awareness in order to create a secure and trusted ICT network.”

It has been four years since the PM made these promises. Four years on, the Singhealth data breach has resulted in the medical data of 1.5 million patients being compromised, with about 160,000 of these patients having their outpatient prescriptions stolen, as well.

Given PM Lee’s observations four years ago that a medical data hack would be devastating to Singapore and his years-old promises that the authorities will undertake measures to strengthen cyber-security, several questions now arise with the Singhealth data breach.

What were the cyber-security strengthening measures that were implemented in the last four years? Were these measures installed only within government databases? Did this latest data breach occur because these measures were not enforced on Singhealth since it is a private company?


more at : http://theindependent.sg/did-pm-lee-...our-years-ago/


Did the PAP government fail to protect its citizens ???

[NotMyPresident]

SingHealth saga: Data breach raises furore amongst local netizens, questions regarding liability

Published on 2018-07-25 by Danisha Hakeem


In a press release on Monday (23 July), SingHealth stated that it has "sent SMS notifications to more than 1.8 million patients who visited its specialist outpatient clinics and polyclinics from 1 May 2015 to 4 July 2018 to notify them if their data had been illegally accessed and copied".

The statement was released in light of a cyber security attack by hackers, affecting 1.5 million patients who had visited SingHealth’s specialist outpatient clinics or polyclinics between May 1, 2015 and Jul 4, 2018, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, whose personal particulars and outpatient medication data were reportedly "repeatedly and specifically" targeted.

It added that SingHealth patients who have not registered their mobile numbers as a part of the data "will receive letters informing them the status of their data this week" instead.

According to findings from its data check, "More than 231,000 patients have accessed the Health Buddy mobile app and SingHealth website" to verify if their data were also implicated in the cyberattack.

SingHealth reassured that "no phone numbers, financial information or other patient medical records were illegally accessed", adding that their healthcare provisions and services, including clinic and hospital operations, are not disrupted by the recent breach of data, and that "operations [will] continue as normal".

SingHealth also urged patients "who visited SingHealth specialist outpatient clinics and polyclinics from 1 May 2015 to 4 July 2018, who are unable to do a data check via the Health Buddy mobile app or SingHealth website" to dial 6326 5555 at any day of the week from 9am to 9pm should they require any assistance.


more at : https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...ing-liability/


To all who are affected please do not take this lightly . This is a serious case of breach of data . You should be taking steps to protect yourself online .

[NotMyPresident]

How independent are the committee members in the COI for the SingHealth cyber attack?

Published on 2018-07-25 by The Online Citizen


In order to placate the public’s displeasure with serious lapses – the “Committees of Inquiry” set up by the Government over the years, should be seen to be as “independent” as possible, in the eyes of Singaporeans.

I refer to the article “4-member Committee of Inquiry convened to investigate SingHealth cyber attack” (Straits Times, Jul 24).

The government announced on Tuesday (July 24) that a four-member Committee of Inquiry (COI) has been convened to examine SingHealth’s cyber attack that led to the biggest data breach in Singapore.

The committee, headed by former chief district judge and current member of the Public Service Commission Richard Magnus, will also recommend ways to better safeguard public sector IT systems.

The other members of the COI are executive chairman of cyber security solutions firm Quann World, Mr Lee Fook Sun; group chief operating officer of healthcare technology firm Sheares Healthcare Management, Mr T.K. Udairam; and assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, Ms Cham Hui Fong.

I was in a coffee shop and overhead a group of people talking along the lines of “how “independent” are the COIs set up over the years? Particularly in respect of their current or past connections with Government”.

So, I googled:-

Mr Richard Magnus


Richard Magnus was appointed a Member of the Public Service Commission in January 2009. He is a retired Senior (now termed Chief) District Judge. Mr Magnus is also Chairman of the Public Transport Council, Public Guardian Board, Political Films Consultative Committee, Bioethics Advisory Committee, and the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Remote Gambling Act Appeals Advisory Panel, and is a Member of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Independent Review Panel. He was the Founding Chairman of the Casino Regulatory Authority. In the private sector, Mr Magnus serves on the boards of Temasek Cares CLG Limited, Changi Airport Group, and Singapore Consortium Investment Management Limited, and is Chairman of CapitaLand Mall Trust Management Limited and Human Capital (Singapore) Pte Ltd. He is also Singapore’s First Representative to the ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights; and Vice-Chairman of UNESCO’s International Bioethics Committee, as well as an alumnus of the National Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum. For his exceptional public service, Mr Magnus was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2009, the Outstanding Volunteer award by the Ministry of Social and Family Development in 2014; and the Public Service Star by the State in 2015. Mr Magnus graduated from National University of Singapore with a Masters of Law. He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and the John F Kennedy School of Government.”

Mr Lee Fook Sun


“Mr Lee Fook Sun is a Director of SMRT Corporation Ltd.

In addition, Mr Lee is the Chairman of the Singapore Building and Construction Authority (BCA). He also sits on the Board of DSO National Laboratories and serves as a member of the Audit Committee.

Mr Lee holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Master of Arts (Engineering Science) from the University of Oxford (UK). He was conferred the Honorary Fellowship from the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations (AFEO), in recognition of his contributions to the engineering profession and industry.



more at : https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...-cyber-attack/


Ownself investigate ownself ???

[NotMyPresident]

MAS counters Cyber Security Czar BG Koh’s notion that stolen data has “no strong commercial value”

Published on 2018-07-25 by Correspondent


Last Friday (20 Jul), when it was reported that cyber hackers have broken into the computer systems of SingHealth and stolen the personal particulars of 1.5 million patients, including IC numbers, Singapore Cyber Security Czar BG (NS) David Koh told everyone that the stolen information are only "basic demographic data".

"We are watching to see if anything appears on the Internet both in the open and in some of the less well-known websites," he said.

"But considering the type of data that’s been exfiltrated (i.e, unauthorized transfer of data), it is – from our professional experience – unlikely that these will appear, because there is no strong commercial value to these types of data."

In other words, he is telling the 1.5 million patients not to worry about the theft of their personal data, which includes their name, IC number, address, gender, race and date of birth. They are deemed to be of "no strong commercial value" by the Czar, who was amongst the youngest to be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General at 41 when he was in the SAF.

MAS takes action despite Cyber Security Czar says stolen data has "no strong commercial value"

Yesterday (24 Jul), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) released a public notice, saying that it has issued a circular to all financial institutions, directing them to tighten their customer verification processes, following the recent cyber attack at SingHealth.

For access to online financial services, banks in Singapore have already put in place the two-factor authentication (e.g. PIN and One-Time-Password) at login to identify customers. Banks are also required to implement an additional layer of control to authorise high-risk transactions like opening of beneficial accounts, registration of third party payee details and revision of funds transfer limits, MAS said.

"However, to address any risk that the information stolen from SingHealth may be used by fraudsters to impersonate customers and perform unauthorised financial transactions, MAS has directed financial institutions to tighten their customer verification processes," it added.

"Specifically, with immediate effect, all financial institutions should not rely solely on the types of information stolen (name, NRIC number, address, gender, race, and date of birth) for customer verification. Additional information must be used for verification before undertaking transactions for the customer."

"This may include, for instance, One-Time Password, PIN, biometrics, last transaction date or amount, etc," it said.

MAS’ own Chief Cyber Security Officer takes a serious view on personal data being stolen

MAS has also directed all financial institutions to conduct a risk assessment of the impact of the SingHealth incident on their existing control measures for financial services offered to customers, including transaction and inquiry functions .


more at : https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...mercial-value/


Everything has a value .

[mongkokslitch]

Originally Posted by NotMyPresident

MAS tells financial institutions to tighten customer verification processes


The MAS recommended that banks verify customers with additional information before undertaking transactions, such as one-time passwords, pin numbers or biometrics.


PublishedJul 24, 2018, 7:11 pm SGT



Jose Hong


SINGAPORE - The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has urged financial institutions here to strengthen their customer verification processes.

It issued a statement on Tuesday (July 24) in the wake of the country's worst cyber attack when the personal data of 1.5 million SingHealth patients was stolen between June 27 and July 4.

The MAS said it recognises that banks already use two-factor authentication processes to identify their customers, and that financial institutions have robust processes in place.

However, it said they should no longer rely solely on the types of information that was stolen during the cyber attack: names, IC numbers, addresses, gender, race, and dates of birth.

It recommended that they verify customers with additional information before undertaking transactions, such as one-time passwords, pin numbers or biometrics.

The MAS also asked all financial institutions to conduct a risk assessment on the impact of the SingHealth attack on the services they provide to consumers.



more at : https://www.straitstimes.com/singapo...tion-processes


Please pay closer attention to your financial records and take steps to protect your hard earn money .

Bank called me and ask "What is your phone number sir ?"

[NaturalSprings]

Originally Posted by Mane10

The guy lie also don't know how to lie .

Which guy ??

[sharklaserscom]

Originally Posted by NaturalSprings

Which guy ??

This?
https://sbf-sg.social/showthread.php?t=697372

[CMBI]

Originally Posted by NotMyPresident

Did PM Lee predict the massive Singhealth data hack four years ago?


By Jewel Stolarchuk -

July 24, 2018

As public uproar over the massive Singhealth data breach rages on, some have pointed out that Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong may have predicted what has become the biggest data hack in the nation’s history, four years ago.

In launching the Smart Nation Programme in 2014, PM Lee made certain remarks about the state of cyber-security in Singapore that seem quite curious in the aftermath of the Singhealth data hack that has affected at least 1.5 million patients, whose personal information and medical records have been stolen.

PM Lee and his predecessor, now-Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, are among the victims of the data breach which was revealed to the public about half a month after it was discovered.

Hearkening to his National Day Rally speech in 2014, PM Lee spoke about why it is imperative that Singapore adopts ‘smart nation’ initiatives to keep itself ahead of the competition. Specifically citing the extensive patient database employed in local hospitals, PM Lee said that this database is among the best in the world and is one of the early initiatives that the Government has taken on in its journey to transform Singapore into a smart nation.

He then promised to strengthen IT security measures and assured the audience that he will ensure that sensitive information like medical data is not stolen and will be protected against hacker attacks. Asserting that he will take a personal interest in the Smart Nation Programme, the head of government said:

“It is vital that we have secure systems that we can trust, not just preventing credit card numbers from being stolen, but protecting ourselves from malicious attacks where there is hacking or Distributed Denial of Service attacks, you know what that is.

“Whether is it malware that infects our computers which steals sensitive information or possibly threatens critical infrastructure if it gets into the hospital IT systems, patients can die, if it gets into our power system, our power grid can be brought down, if it gets into our airport system, we can have a very serious problem.”

PM Lee, however, admitted that he does not think cyber security duties are as strong as the Government would like to be. Acknowledging that Singapore’s cyber systems “will never be completely impregnable,” PM Lee promised that his Government will undertake measures to raise cyber security levels here:

“…it is not a laughing matter, we take it seriously; we already have cyber security duties residing in Ministry of Home Affairs and the Infocomm Development Authority. But I do not think that they are as strong as we would like them to be.

“We need to reorganise them, to strengthen our system and our institutions. We are studying how best to do that, to protect our Government systems, including the Smart Nation sensor systems, against cyber-attacks. But also outside the Government, other critical systems like in telecoms, banking and energy sectors.

“You will never be completely impregnable, but I think we need to be secure and as safe as we can be. That means within the Government we need the system and outside the Government we must reach out to the companies and individuals, to raise your security awareness in order to create a secure and trusted ICT network.”

It has been four years since the PM made these promises. Four years on, the Singhealth data breach has resulted in the medical data of 1.5 million patients being compromised, with about 160,000 of these patients having their outpatient prescriptions stolen, as well.

Given PM Lee’s observations four years ago that a medical data hack would be devastating to Singapore and his years-old promises that the authorities will undertake measures to strengthen cyber-security, several questions now arise with the Singhealth data breach.

What were the cyber-security strengthening measures that were implemented in the last four years? Were these measures installed only within government databases? Did this latest data breach occur because these measures were not enforced on Singhealth since it is a private company?


more at : http://theindependent.sg/did-pm-lee-...our-years-ago/


Did the PAP government fail to protect its citizens ???

It is another of their Honest Mistake

[kt88_2]

Nowadays all sit down there take pay ,all cannot make it,oneself chk oneself, maybe they use foreigners to chk themselves sure all ok

[NotMyPresident]

This Is Not Masak Masak! It Has Affected 1.5 Million Singaporeans!! : Ex-NSP Chief Lim Tean on SingHealth data breach


By Obbana Rajah -

July 26, 2018


Former National Solidarity Party Chief Lim Tean took to social media to express his indignation at the SingHealth data breach and he felt that the members of the Committee of Inquiry could have been better picked to suit the situation.

According to the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), the four-member committee is tasked with looking into the events and contributing factors leading to the cyberattack on SingHealth’s patient database system, as well as recommend measures to reduce the risk of such attacks in future.

Mr Lim said that because the composition of the Committee was of the utmost importance, “instead of having the greatest independent experts in the World examine and investigate the fault in the system, we once again have a coterie all linked or previously linked to the establishment”.

He also expressed that this rendered the Committee not as effectual as they could have been.

Mr Lim then said, “Besides the Chairman Richard Magnus who was the former Chief District Judge, the other 3 members all are either linked to the establishment or were formerly linked”.

He added that Lee Fook Sun, was a former Brigadier General in MINDEF and was with the ST Engineering Group for 17 years until he retired in 2017. He is also a board member of SMRT and DSO National Laboratories and a corporate advisor to Temasek International Advisors Pte Ltd.

He then went on to say that Mr T.K.Udairam was the former CEO of Changi Hospital. He is currently the COO of Sheares Healthcare Management, which is wholly owned by Temasek.

Mr Lim also added that “Ms Cham Hui Fong is the assistant secretary-general of NTUC and has been for the last 27 years”.


more at : http://theindependent.sg/this-is-not...h-data-breach/


What is the most disturbing issue is that the PAP government had not mentioned how are they going to recover the stolen data . How are they going to protect the 1.5 million NRICs mostly who are your Singaporean voters . Definitely the PAP government had failed in its duty to protect our personal data . So you still want to go Smart nation ? You still want to go cashless ? Do you still want to vote for PAP ??? How can we ever trust the PAP government again ???

[NotMyPresident]

SingHealth hack: Exposing the cracks of elitism and entitlement

Published on 2018-07-26 by Augustine Low


Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean has said that the SingHealth cyber attack “exposed weaknesses” in the system. He felt that Internet surfing separation, like what has been done in the public sector, could and should have been implemented on public healthcare systems.

That is only half the story.

The other half – more significant and more pointed – is that the episode exposed the cracks of a system embedded with elitism and entitlement, as symbolised by two of the central figures involved.

Group Chief Executive Officer of SingHealth is Ivy Ng, a role she assumed in 2012. Her husband Ng Eng Hen has been Defence Minister since 2011.

Such a power pairing is not isolated. It starts right from the top.

This is the 14th year that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is in his job – and also the 14th year that Ho Ching rules the roost at Temasek.

The other central figure in the SingHealth hack is also a member of the elitist and exclusive club.

Former army general David Koh has been Chief Executive of the Cyber Security Agency since its formation in 2015. He is concurrently the Commissioner of Cybersecurity, the Deputy Secretary (Special Projects) and Defence Cyber Chief in MINDEF.

As a former general, his exalted status is no secret and no surprise.


more at : https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...d-entitlement/

[skyleon]

NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng wants more companies to voluntarily raise retirement age



"(Older workers) have experience and are valuable assets. Employers should value and re-employ our older workers," said labour chief Ng Chee Meng.


Published Jul 25, 2018, 3:36 pm SGT

Updated Jul 25, 2018, 6:29 pm



Yuen Sin


SINGAPORE - Labour chief Ng Chee Meng has called on more employers to voluntarily raise the retirement age of their workers beyond the statutory requirement of 62, as he commended Gardens by the Bay for being the latest company to do so.

A raised retirement age will allow older workers to continue working, earn an income and contribute, he said.

Mr Ng was speaking on Wednesday (July 25) at the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding in which Gardens by the Bay, a not-for-profit company, pledged to raise its retirement age to 65 from 2019.

"NTUC fully supports this initiative by the Gardens. It is something that we hope other employers will follow," said Mr Ng, who is secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

"(Older workers) have experience and are valuable assets. Employers should value and re-employ our older workers," he added.

A unionised company under the Attractions, Resorts & Entertainment Union, Gardens by the Bay currently has 20 workers who are above the age of 60.

According to NTUC, about 20 unionised companies have either voluntarily raised their retirement ages, or do not stipulate any retirement age in workers’ employment contracts, which means that they can work for as long as they wish to.

For instance, the Singapore American School, ComfortDelGro Group and Bukit Timah Saddle Club have raised their retirement ages to 67.
Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay does not stipulate any retirement age in workers’ employment contracts.

The statutory retirement age has been fixed at 62 for the past two decades. It was last raised in 1999 from 60 to 62. However, companies must offer re-employment to eligible workers up to age 67. This threshold was raised from 65 to 67 in July last year.

In May, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo announced the formation of a work group that will address older workers' concerns as Singapore's workforce ages.

Among other things, it will consider Singapore's next moves on the retirement and re-employment age, and review the longer-term relevance of these policies.

The work group consists of high-level representatives from the unions, employers and the Government.



continue reading here : https://www.straitstimes.com/singapo...retirement-age

[skyleon]

Ng Chee Meng draws flak from Singaporean workers for urging companies to raise the retirement age


By Jewel Stolarchuk -

July 26, 2018

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Ng Chee Meng has drawn flak from Singaporean workers after he urged companies to voluntarily raise the retirement age, yesterday.

Ng, who also serves as secretary-general of the labour movement, lauded Gardens by the Bay for raising the retirement age for its staff above the statutory requirement of 62 and urged other companies to follow the company’s lead.

The statutory retirement age of 62 has been enforced for the past twenty years, after it was raised from 60 to 62 in 1999. Presently, companies have to offer re-employment to eligible workers up to age 67.

Speaking at the Gardens’ signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding in which the Gardens pledged to raise the retirement age from 2019 onwards, Ng said that the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) “fully supports this initiative by the Gardens. It is something that we hope other employers will follow.”

Gardens by the Bay – a non-profit organisation that employs 20 workers above the age of 60 – joins about 20 unionised companies that either raised the retirement age (like the Singapore American School, ComfortDelGro Group and Bukit Timah Saddle Club that raised retirement ages to 67) or do not stipulate any retirement age in employment contracts (like Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay) at all.

Explaining that a higher retirement age will allow older workers to continue earning an income, Ng added: “(Older workers) have experience and are valuable assets. Employers should value and re-employ our older workers.”

Ng further said that NTUC will support the work group that has been convened by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to address the concerns of older workers. Ng pledged that NTUC will work with MOM to develop adjustments to the re-employment terms of older workers, and confirmed that the work group will have its first meeting next week.

Despite Ng’s assurances that his call for companies to raise the retirement age is to allow older workers the ability to earn more income, his remarks have drawn criticism from locals.

Some netizens responding to the Minister’s call have lamented that older people cannot enjoy their retirement if the retirement age is raised, while others said that even if such an initiative is meant to benefit older workers, older workers are usually cast aside because younger or foreign staff typically demand lower salaries.


continue reading here : http://theindependent.sg/ng-chee-men...etirement-age/

[CheeHongGan]

The people who are supposed to be responsible for ensuring our personal data are safe :

Singapore Cyber Security Czar BG (NS) David Koh Tee Hian

Singapore Health Minister Gan Kim Yong

SingHealth CEO Prof Ivy Ng

[trackfault]

Originally Posted by CheeHongGan

The people who are supposed to be responsible for ensuring our personal data are safe :

Singapore Cyber Security Czar BG (NS) David Koh Tee Hian

Singapore Health Minister Gan Kim Yong

SingHealth CEO Prof Ivy Ng

Those who wear white are forever safe