Singapore which is known as a digital hub of Asia is in news for all wrong reasons these days. A study conducted by Kaspersky says that over 11 million cyber attacks were launched from the servers operating in the scenic city in 2019. However, the research also claims that there was a dip in the launch of cyber attacks by 150% when compared to the figures compiled in 2018.
Kaspersky says that it tracked down over 4,658,235 cyber threats originating from Singapore which were related to 4 attack vectors on a major note. This includes downloading malicious files from the internet, malicious attachments clipped to emails, browser-based extension activity and malicious communication between Command and control servers.
“On the other hand, Singapore is also reported to have failed to block the least number of cyber threats, regardless of whether they were web-based or launched via local ISP launches”, said Yeo Siang Tiong, General Manager, Kaspersky South East Asia.
The good news is that the Singaporean government set aside $1 billion for the next 3 years to build up its cyber and data security capabilities to defend their sensitive infrastructure and also the interests of the populace.
Note 1- Singapore has a Cyber Security Agency (CSA) which is dedicated to resolving issues regarding the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud Computing and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Note 2- In Oct’19 CSA also developed a master plan to secure operational technology (OT) systems used in CII (Critical Information Infrastructure) Sectors which includes transportation, energy, and water.
