Cyber forces

SINGAPORE: Cybercrime cases jumped by more than 50 per cent last year, accounting for more than a quarter of all crimes in committed in the country, said the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) in its annual report published on Friday (Jun 26). There were 9,430 cybercrime cases reported last year, up 51.7 per cent from the 6,215 cases reported in 2018, according to the key findings from the Singapore Cyber Landscape 2019 report. The common types of cybercrime were e-commerce scams, phishing and malware attacks. The CSA, an agency managed by the Ministry of Communications and Information, said its data revealed how threats and attacks have grown in both “scale and complexity". The COVID-19 pandemic has also created a new raft of vulnerabilities, with attackers exploiting the panic and fear to seek financial gain or gain access to classified information. “Since its emergence in late-2019, COVID-19 has quite literally wreaked havoc all over the world … Even as nations fight … [Read more...] about Cybercrime jumps more than 50% in 2019, new threats emerge from COVID-19 pandemic

SINGAPORE: It was a productive year for Singapore in 2018, with the economy growing above expectation at 3.3 per cent and the country playing host to the historic meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday (Dec 31) in his New Year message for 2019. Furthermore, "significant headway" was made in terms of leadership succession after the younger political office holders selected Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat to be their leader, which Mr Lee said would bring long-term confidence to both locals and foreigners alike. Here is his New Year message to Singaporeans in full: 2018 was a productive year for Singapore. Our economy grew steadily at 3.3 per cent – close to 2017, and above our expectations. We expect to make 1.5-3.5 per cent growth next year, but there are major uncertainties in the global economy, with growing trade conflicts, nervous financial markets and signs of slowing growth. SINGAPORE … [Read more...] about In full: PM Lee’s New Year message 2019 – ‘Reason to be confident about our future’

SINGAPORE: It has been said that cybersecurity is like an arms race, with both sides constantly evolving their weapons and defences. On one side are the keepers of data and information, and on the other are the cyber criminals who want to steal and profit from that information. WHAT’S THE COST? In one of the largest data heists in history, it came to light in November that the data of 500 million customers of the Marriott hotel group had been stolen . Earlier last year, cyber criminals took the records of some 145 million customers of credit-reporting agency Equifax. In Singapore, the information of 1.5 million healthcare patients, including those of the Prime Minister, were stolen . Separately, the records of 14,200 HIV-positive people in Singapore were also leaked online . READ: Mikhy Brochez admits threatening Singapore Government over HIV data leak in FBI affidavit In Bangladesh, rogue hackers in 2016 robbed the country’s central bank of US$100 million, … [Read more...] about Commentary: Here’s how to win the cybersecurity arms race

A Berlin resident has been found guilty of threatening to bomb a hospital and attempting to blackmail the UK's National Health Service (NHS) for £10 million in Bitcoin (BTC). Security 30,000 Macs infected with new Silver Sparrow malware Cyber security 101: Protect your privacy from hackers, spies, and the government The best antivirus software and apps The best VPNs for business and home use The best security keys for two-factor authentication Phishing tricks crooks use to make you open malware email attachments (ZDNet YouTube) Emil Apreda, previously only identified as Emil A. due to German law, is a 33-year-old Italian and resident of Berlin, Germany, with a background in computing. On Friday, the presiding judge in the District Criminal Court of Berlin convicted Apreda and sentenced him to three years in prison. Apreda was accused of sending emails to the NHS between April and June 2020, in which he threatened to detonate a bomb in an … [Read more...] about Berlin resident jailed for threatening to bomb NHS hospital unless Bitcoin ransom was paid

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has asked that the powers given to the minister responsible under the pending Critical Infrastructure Bill, which would allow them to step in when a cybersecurity incident has occurred, be further defined to take into account the impact on individuals' privacy. The Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2020 introduces a government assistance regime that provides powers to protect assets during or following a significant cyber attack. This includes the power to authorise information gathering directions, action directions, and intervention requests. The Bill proposes that where an appropriate ministerial authorisation is in force, the Department of Home Affairs secretary can compel relevant entities to produce any information that may assist with determining whether power should be exercised in relation to the incident and asset in question. "The secretary may also direct an entity 'to do, or … [Read more...] about Privacy Commissioner asks for clarity on minister’s powers in Critical Infrastructure Bill