"Cyber bullying is a particularly insidious type of bullying as it can follow people wherever they go and the anonymity that it seemingly affords to the perpetrator can make it even more stressful for victim." - EdballsEditorial
Giving cyber attacks their due
INCREASINGLY sophisticated cyber threats to national and commercial security require increasingly sophisticated safeguards. In setting up the Singapore Infocomm Technology Security Authority (Sitsa), the Government has taken an early step in protecting against such dangers as cyber espionage and cyber terrorism. Sitsa will be responsible for securing critical IT infrastructure. It will oversee operational cyber security development and implementation, in coordination with the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) and other state agencies. The infocomm sector is a key contributor to the economy. According to IDA, revenues from hardware, software and IT, telecommunications and content services increased 12.4 per cent to more than $58 billion last year, despite the economic slowdown. It is self-evident cyber protection is critical.
Cyber attacks have become more serious with extensive Internet use. Intruders out to steal state or commercial secrets or cause systems damage to underscore political causes are more dangerous than mischievous young hackers launching viruses or hijacking online sessions for fun. Attacks can range from sniffing out user IDs and passwords and vandalising websites, to denial of service and deploying harmful worms. Intelligence agencies dealing with real world espionage must also assume that cyber spying, even more undetectable given anti-forensics techniques, is endemic.
There are no credible reports of any attempt to assume unauthorised control and command of systems in military operations. Neither are there any documented instances of state-sponsored cyber warfare. Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea and the United States reported cyber attacks on government or other networks in the last three years, but none made public evidence that state authorities were responsible. Nevertheless attacks on national security systems are a concern. The US Strategic Command, responsible for protecting the US military information grid, disclosed last April that more than US$100 million (S$140 million) was spent defending networks against cyber attacks and resolving computer problems, although it declined to name the cyber attackers.
In Singapore, Sitsa will need to protect against all cyber attacks, including those by terrorists aiming to disrupt essential systems and cause panic and harm. The more accurate its threat perception, the greater the level of cyber security awareness it can raise among infocomm developers and users, and the earlier it can ensure safeguards are built into such systems, the more effective Sitsa will be. The nation will be safer for that.