Technology and digitalisation woes can bring down Singapore

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Forum: Mobile Guardian glitch a reminder of how reliant we are on tech​

Aug 12, 2024

Recently, many students in Singapore faced problems with their personal learning devices (PLDs) as a result of two incidents affecting the Mobile Guardian app (Mobile Guardian app glitch affects school students using iPads, Aug 2; and MOE removing Mobile Guardian app from students’ devices after global breach, Aug 6).
These issues caused frustration and concern for those affected, including my friends, but we are grateful to the Ministry of Education (MOE) and our schools for taking the necessary measures to help students.
The IT staff were a big help in getting the devices running properly again. Unfortunately, in the process, some students lost all the notes that they had taken and saved on their PLDs.
My heart goes out to them, especially those who are about to sit their national exams. Thankfully, many students are helping their peers by willingly sharing their notes with them.
This episode serves as a reminder of how technology has become such a major part of our lives and how reliant we are on it. In school, many of our learning resources are online and many of us use our PLDs for note-taking.
When the problems hit us, teachers and students had to find alternative means to carry on with lessons.
Situations like the recent one can occur at any time. We should ensure that we are not overdependent on technology, so that we are not crippled when glitches occur.

Michela Talia See, 15
Secondary 4

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Some Nets terminals down; customers encouraged to pay cash or use SGQR​

The affected terminals will not be able to perform QR, contactless and PIN transactions temporarily, Nets said at 11.38am on Sept 23. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Sherlyn Sim

Sep 23, 2024

SINGAPORE – Nets customers are advised to use SGQR or cash to pay merchants following a disruption of Nets-related services on Sept 23.
In a Facebook post at 10.12am, payment services group Nets (Network for Electronic Transfers) announced that some debit and credit card transactions via Nets terminals were temporarily unavailable.
When asked how many terminals were affected, Nets would only say that those which were impacted amounted to about 5 per cent of its terminal network.
The affected terminals will not be able to perform QR, contactless and PIN (personal identification number) transactions temporarily, Nets said in an update on the post at 11.38am.
Nets said the issue was discovered in the morning on Sept 23 but did not elaborate on the cause of the disruption.
“We are working to restore the service as soon as possible and apologise for the inconvenience caused,” Nets added.
The SGQR (Singapore Quick Response Code) combines multiple payment QR codes into a single label for more efficient transactions.

DBS Bank said in a Facebook post at 1.28pm that “payment transactions such as QR, credit or debit and Nets card transactions via some Nets terminals are temporarily unavailable”.
Customers can continue to use their DBS/POSB digibank and PayLah apps to make payments via the SGQR codes, as well as PayNow, DBS added.
There were 52 reports on problems with DBS banking services at about noon on Downdetector, a site which monitors and tracks real-time outages.
In November 2023, Nets-related services were disrupted for about an hour.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Task force set up to bolster S’pore’s tech resilience following CrowdStrike outage: Josephine Teo​

On July 19, a faulty software update issued by CrowdStrike crashed about 8.5 million Windows devices worldwide, including in Singapore. PHOTO: REUTERS

Zhaki Abdullah

Aug 07, 2024


SINGAPORE - A task force has been set up to look into new ways to enhance Singapore’s tech resilience in the wake of July’s global tech outage caused by cyber-security firm CrowdStrike.
Set up by the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI), the task force will engage relevant partners to gain insights into the incident, which disrupted banks, hospitals and emergency lines around the world.
The task force will also assess if further measures should be taken to improve Singapore’s resilience when such disruptions occur, Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo told Parliament on Aug 7.
“IT systems may experience outages and disruptions from time to time. In this particular instance, it is not yet fully understood what caused a relatively routine software update to (create) such major disruptions around the world,” said Mrs Teo.
She was responding to questions from seven MPs about Singapore’s response to the incident.
Mr Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC) asked what MDDI’s contingency plans were for such global tech outages that could impact Singapore’s socio-economic security. Mr Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC) asked whether the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore had updated its threat and risk assessment protocols to cover similar supply chain risks.
On July 19, a faulty software update issued by CrowdStrike crashed about 8.5 million Windows devices worldwide, including in Singapore.

Mrs Teo noted that government services here, as well as most essential services, were unaffected by the outage.
The outage largely affected the staff of businesses here that use CrowdStrike’s Falcon Endpoint Detection and Response solution. Gantry operations at some HDB carparks and passenger check-in for some airlines at Changi Airport were also hit.
In a written reply to a parliamentary question on Aug 6, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said that 108 departing flights were delayed by more than half an hour on July 19. Additionally, one departing flight and its turnaround arriving flight were cancelled.

He added that business continuity plans – such as the use of manual check-in processes – put into effect by Changi Airport Group (CAG), affected airlines and ground handlers allowed the airport and airlines to continue operations, albeit less efficiently.
“CAG is working with affected airlines and ground handlers to review their business continuity plans, taking into account the learning points from this incident, including how back-up measures can be implemented more efficiently,” said Mr Chee.
Speaking in Parliament on Aug 7 about the outage, Mrs Teo said that as not all such disruptions can be prevented, system owners should have plans in place to help them quickly recover.
She encouraged businesses to conduct their own risk assessments and introduce appropriate business continuity plans to mitigate the risks of such disruptions, noting that the Singapore Cyber Emergency Response Team had recently published an advisory on building digital resilience.
In a supplementary question, Mr Yam asked if it could be made compulsory for certain businesses, such as those related to critical infrastructure, to introduce contingencies for such incidents.
Replying, Mrs Teo said that while such measures may be mandated in certain instances, in the majority of such cases, system owners should take responsibility to build up their own system’s resilience.

Ms Cheryl Chan (East Coast GRC) asked what was being done to ensure greater coordination with third-party vendors, to ensure that changes made on their end do not affect systems here.
Mrs Teo said government agencies are already required to make a number of efforts, such as putting in place quality assurance measures to ensure software updates will not introduce errors to critical systems.
“In addition, agencies with critical systems are required to review the change management processes of their software providers through regular independent audits. This ensures that software changes can be rolled out smoothly and securely,” she said.
For certain services, however, such matters may be beyond the control of users, and in such cases, the onus is on suppliers to ensure that software remains secure and available for use, she added.
More On This Topic
Global tech outage: Some in Singapore stuck at carparks, others start the weekend early
Global tech outage begs the question: Why no backup plan?
Noting that July’s outage was not due to a cyber attack but rather a bug in a software update, Mr Giam asked if current legislature addressed the risks of such supply chain failures. He also asked if the authorities would consider mandating that operators of critical information infrastructure diversify their vendors, such that a single software error would not bring down the entire system.
Mrs Teo pointed out that the Cybersecurity Code of Practice requires critical information infrastructure operators to have a variety of vendors with different systems architectures to prevent a single attack from immobilising key components of their systems.
She noted that the proposed Digital Infrastructure Act, announced earlier in 2024, would also seek to improve resilience “over and above what needs to be done”. The proposed Act aims to introduce higher security and resilience standards for cloud services and data centre operators to avoid disruptions to Singapore’s economy and society. These operators power services ranging from online banking and payments to e-government services here.
“We are in the process of consulting with the various stakeholders, and I think, in due course, we will be able to say more about that,” she said.

 

[k1976]

Markets

Malaysia Takes the Limelight as Singapore Firms Look North for Listings​

• Singapore-listed chip firms looking to sell shares in Malaysia
• Malaysia has seen more than 30 IPOs in 2024, Singapore one

By Dave Sebastian and John Cheng
September 25, 2024 at 8:15 AM GMT+8
Updated on
September 25, 2024 at 4:22 PM GMT+8
Save

Some Singaporean companies are looking to sell shares in Malaysia’s booming market, as the city-state remains on track for its worst year for new stock listings in a quarter century.

A shift would buck the historical pattern of Malaysian firms offering equity in Singapore, which has traditionally been seen as offering better access to global institutional investors.

 

[k1976]

Hong Kong Reclaims Top Spot as Asia's Leading Financial Hub, Surpassing Singapore​

Sep 26, 2024 Hubbis

Hong Kong has reclaimed its position as Asia's top financial hub, surpassing Singapore for the first time in two years, according to the latest Global Financial Centres Index.

The semi-annual report, released by the China Development Institute and London’s Z/Yen Partners, placed Hong Kong third globally, behind New York and London. Singapore and San Francisco rounded out the top five.

In 2022, Singapore overtook Hong Kong after easing travel restrictions, while Hong Kong maintained its measures until early 2023. Recent improvements in the stock market and new listings have strengthened Hong Kong's financial status.

Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, highlighted Hong Kong's high rankings in areas such as the business environment, fintech, banking, and wealth management. He credited the city's stock market growth and regulatory support for revitalizing its IPO market, including the major IPO of Midea Group, which raised US$4 billion.

In addition, the US Federal Reserve's interest rate cut and adjustments by Hong Kong’s banks, alongside China’s recent policy moves, have further boosted market sentiment.

 

[John Little]

This is one of the reasons why some hawkers are resistant and won't go into digital-payment mode.
Digital systems are unreliable. Cash is king.
But worse, once digitalised, gov can screen payments and see transactions, which means all the tax evasion may kena spotted.
So many hawkers with steady regular business, WILL NOT opt for digital payment and even food delivery.
Their status will always be, want to eat, come and queue, eat here or take go. Once sold out, close shop, come back tomorrow.

 

[k1976]

Markets - Lumber 1 Threat to Huat Huat Property Run

China Steps Up Checks of Wealth Management Products After $149 Billion Outflow​

• Investors yanked $149 billion from WMPs after stock rally
• Banks told to report on ability to meet short-term redemptions

Pedestrians along the Bund across from commercial buildings in Pudong's Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
By Bloomberg News
October 10, 2024 at 2:30 PM GMT+8
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Translate

China has asked its financial institutions to beef up monitoring of the nation’s wealth management products, people familiar with the matter said, after investors pulled some $149 billion to chase a rally in stocks.
Regulators recently ordered lenders, fund houses and fund distributors to monitor changes in the scale of WMPs on a daily basis, according to the people, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter.

 

[congo9]

Wealth product lead to money outflow ?

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Emergency, business hotlines restored after hours-long Singtel landline outage​

There were more than 2,500 reports as at 3.10pm on service outage website Downdetector. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

Sarah Koh

Oct 09, 2024

SINGAPORE - The hotlines of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and police, as well as those of hospitals and banks, could not be reached on Oct 8 in an unprecedented islandwide disruption involving Singtel’s telecommunications network.
The disruption lasted for more than three hours before services progressively resumed between 6pm and 7pm.
Netizens began submitting outage reports as early as 2pm on crowdsourced outage website Downdetector when they could not get through public service hotlines. At 3.18pm, there were 2,706 reports on Downdetector.
In a Facebook post at around 4.20pm, the SCDF and police urged members of the public to use SMS instead.
“Members of the public who are experiencing difficulties reaching us at 995 or 999 can SMS SCDF at 70995 or SPF at 70999 instead,” said the police. “The safety and well-being of the public is our top priority. We will provide updates as soon as more information becomes available.”

In an update at around 6.50pm, the SCDF and police said 999 and 995 hotline services were restored.
It is not known how many people were affected by delays in reaching emergency services.


An annual statistics report released by the SCDF on Feb 21 showed it responded to 246,832 emergency calls in 2023. In 2022, it responded to 256,837 calls.
Hospitals and medical centres affected included KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), Changi General Hospital (CGH), Singapore General Hospital (SGH), SingHealth and National Cancer Centre Singapore.
KKH and SGH advised patients to contact them via e-mail since their phone lines were down.


CGH, SingHealth and National Cancer Centre Singapore directed patients to use the SingHealth Health Buddy app for appointments, medication orders and billing services.
A National University Health System (NUHS) spokesperson said the organisation was alerted to intermittent connection issues affecting its phone lines in the afternoon, due to the disruption.
“Our patients were, however, still able to manage their appointments or send in their queries via the NUHS app and our e-mail channels,” said the spokesperson, adding that its phone lines were fully restored by 5.35pm.
Mr David Kwok, 74, told The Straits Times he had tried to use his home phone to call SGH at about 2pm to reschedule a medical appointment, but was unable to get through.
Attempts to call Singtel’s customer service hotlines were also unsuccessful, said the retired engineering officer.
Mr Kwok visited Singtel’s flagship store in Somerset to find out what was wrong, and was initially told there might be an issue with the payment of his bills, before he was informed of the service disruption.
“One thing I was very worried about was the 999 and 995 numbers,” he said. “What happens if there’s a fire?”
Other public hotlines affected were those of SimplyGo, a unified ticketing system by the Land Transport Authority, and Changi Airport.
The customer service hotlines of DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and UOB also did not work, with the banks advising customers to use their banking apps instead.
In its Facebook post at around 4.50pm, DBS said: “We have also been informed by Nets that this industrywide issue may also impact transactions, such as QR, credit and debit, and Nets card transactions, via some Nets terminals.”

Ms Chan Chiew Yen was not able to use Nets when she tried to pay for skincare products at Takashimaya at around 5pm.
The 50-year-old executive did not have sufficient cash on hand for her purchase, which added up to more than $200.
She was puzzled as to why there have been such problems with cashless payments.
“I feel it’s time that I start to set aside larger amounts of physical cash, just in case of more outages like these,” she said.
Payment via DBS’ PayLah! and the national PayNow instant fund transfer services were not affected, said DBS.
Many office landlines were also down.
Ms Mariam, a customer service supervisor at a public service agency, said issues with her company’s customer service hotline began at around 2.15pm, and were resolved by 5.30pm.
“While my staff were glad they could take a break during the disruption, our case loads have piled up. The team will have to work twice as hard tomorrow to clear our pending cases,” said the 26-year-old.
Singtel’s first post on Facebook went out at around 3.40pm, noting that some of its customers, including public service hotlines, “may be experiencing intermittent fixed voice service issues”.
Replying to queries from ST, a Singtel spokesman said affected services included residential, corporate and public services. “From 4.45pm, services were progressively restored, starting with emergency services.”
“This is an isolated incident and there’s no evidence to suggest it is a cyber-related event,” said the spokesman, adding that services were fully restored by 6.30pm.
“We are working diligently with our partners to investigate the root cause to prevent this from happening again.”
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), which regulates the telecommunications sector, said it is looking into the disruption, which started at 2pm.
“Singtel was required to restore services urgently, with emphasis on key government services,” said an IMDA spokeswoman. “Services, including 999 and 995 hotlines, were progressively restored from 5pm, and all services have been restored by 6.30 pm.”
“IMDA takes a serious view of any service disruption to public telecommunications services, and will investigate the incident,” she added.

According to service outage website Downdetector, there were more than 2,500 reports as at 3.10pm. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM DOWNDETECTOR

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Singtel outage: Experts call for review of emergency hotline contingency plans​

The disruption on Oct 8 lasted for more than three hours before services progressively resumed in the evening. PHOTO: ST FILE

Osmond Chia

Oct 10, 2024

SINGAPORE – Risk experts have called for a review of contingency plans among emergency hotline operators after an unprecedented hours-long Singtel outage cut off calls to the police, paramedics, fire department and other public lines on Oct 8.
Experts pointed to call forwarding as a possible solution as it can automatically redirect incoming calls to an alternative line in the event the emergency lines cannot be reached because they are either engaged or broken.
Commonly used in call centres, call forwarding makes it simple for callers as they do not need to remember alternative numbers, said risk experts and business consultants interviewed by The Straits Times.
The disruption on Oct 8 lasted more than three hours before services progressively resumed in the evening.
The hotlines of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and police, as well as those of public hospitals, banks, Changi Airport and SimplyGo did not have a dial tone.
The public was instead asked to send SMSes to different emergency numbers, or use apps and e-mail to contact the affected service providers.
“It appears that emergency hotline operators did not have backup services ready for immediate switchover, given the hours-long disruption,” said Mr Aaron Ang, chief information security officer at Singapore-based IT services company Wissen International.

“Even Singtel did not seem to have any contingency plans for its customers,” he added.
In reply to ST, Singtel Singapore chief executive Ng Tian Chong said the telco is exploring alternative communication channels with each service provider to ensure better resilience.
He did not answer queries about what caused the disruption but said Singtel is implementing measures to prevent a recurrence.

Mr Ng said in a statement: “This was an unfortunate incident and I sincerely apologise to all who were affected by Tuesday’s disruption.
“As soon as we were alerted to the matter, my teams worked expeditiously to isolate the issue and deploy recovery measures so that services, especially essential ones, could be restored as soon as possible.”
He added: “I want to reassure our customers that we take this matter very seriously and appreciate their patience and understanding as we put in place these actions.”
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the sector’s regulator investigating the incident, said in reply to ST on Oct 10 that it takes a serious view of the disruption to Singtel’s fixed voice line services and will not hesitate to take action under the Telecommunications Act.
IMDA said it may impose financial penalties for breach of the Act. The maximum financial penalty is up to $1 million or up to 10 per cent of the annual turnover of the licensee, whichever is higher.
“Telecommunication networks in Singapore are important digital infrastructure.
“The design of Singapore’s networks, as a whole, supports connectivity across various communication options including voice, mobile, broadband, Wi-Fi and messaging across different service providers. This diversity is a key part of our infrastructure resilience,” said a spokeswoman.
She added: “IMDA will work closely with agencies and organisations who provide key services to enable them to tap the diverse network connectivity options.”
ST has also contacted the police and SCDF on the impact of the disruption and their contingency measures.
Among the affected operators, SingHealth pointed to Singtel’s Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), a long-running network of cables that support call centres and businesses, as the cause of the outage.
Mr Anthony Lim, director of the Centre for Strategic Cyberspace and International Studies, said that the outage was significant enough to warrant a serious review of contingency measures.
“With call forwarding, operators can continue to rely on long-running analogue networks like ISDN, while keeping new technologies like mobile or digital lines as a backup,” he added.
The alternative phone numbers and e-mail addresses, posted by affected service providers on their social media accounts, are not familiar to the public. The police, for instance, alerted callers to reach them via SMS instead on 70999.
“Most people are unlikely to have seen the alerts or recall those numbers on short notice,” said Ms Chow Keng Fong, a business continuity adviser with experience working for banking and tech firms.
“The Singtel outage signalled a need for a review,” she added. “Using an app or remembering another number is not effective for most users.”
She also pointed to call forwarding technology, which can connect users to an alternative line or link them to voice instructions on alternative ways to reach the necessary service.

Cyber-security consultant Shane Chiang, 52, found out about the outage when his colleagues could not reach 999 to report a scam call from a fraudster impersonating the police.
The hotlines for 999 and the police’s anti-scam centre were all unreachable, said Mr Chiang.
“All we heard was a dead tone,” he said. “No emergency line worked. We didn’t know what happened at the time.”
Mr Chiang added: “It could have been really bad if it was an emergency like a house on fire.”

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Chinese group accused of hacking Singtel in telecom attacks​

Singtel said it regularly reviews and enhances cybersecurity capabilities and defences to protect critical assets from evolving threats. PHOTO: ST FILE

Nov 05, 2024

SINGAPORE – Singapore Telecommunications, Singapore’s largest mobile carrier, was breached by Chinese state-sponsored hackers this summer as part of a broader campaign against telecommunications companies and other critical infrastructure operators around the world, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The previously undisclosed breach was discovered in June, and investigators believe it was pulled off by a hacking group known as Volt Typhoon, according to the two people, who asked not to be identified to discuss a confidential investigation.
Officials in the United States, Australia, Canada, the UK and New Zealand – the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance – warned earlier in 2024 that Volt Typhoon was embedding itself inside compromised IT networks to give China the ability to conduct disruptive cyber attacks in the event of a military conflict with the West.
The breach of Singtel, a carrier with operations throughout South-east Asia and Australia, was seen as a test run by China for further hacks against US telecommunications companies, and information from the attack has provided clues about the expanding scope of suspected Chinese attacks against critical infrastructure abroad, including in the US, the people said.
In an e-mailed response to queries from Bloomberg News, Singtel did not directly address questions about the alleged breach. “We understand the importance of network resilience, especially because we are a key infrastructure service provider,” the company said. “That’s why we adopt industry best practices and work with industry-leading security partners to continuously monitor and promptly address the threats that we face on a daily basis. We also regularly review and enhance our cyber security capabilities and defences to protect our critical assets from evolving threats.”
Spokesperson Liu Pengyu for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said he was not aware of the specifics as relayed by Bloomberg, but that in general, China firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cybertheft.
The US is currently battling its own suspected Chinese attacks of political campaigns and telecommunications companies. Officials have described the telecom breaches as one of the most damaging campaigns on record by suspected Chinese hackers and one that they are still seeking to fully understand and contain.

In the US telecommunications attacks, which investigators have attributed to another Chinese group called Salt Typhoon, AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc are among those breached, and the hackers potentially accessed systems the federal government uses for court-authorised network wiretapping requests, the Wall Street Journal reported in early October.
US intelligence officials think the Chinese hacking group that Microsoft Corp dubbed Salt Typhoon may have been inside US telecommunications companies for months and found a route into an access point for legally authorised wiretapping, according to a person familiar with their views.
AT&T declined to comment. Verizon did not respond to a request for comment.

Through those intrusions, the hackers are believed to have targeted the phones of former president Donald Trump, running mate JD Vance and Trump family members, as well as members of Vice-President Kamala Harris’ campaign staff and others, the New York Times has reported.
In the case of the alleged Singtel breach, one of the people familiar with that incident said the attack relied on a tool known as a web shell.
In August, researchers at Lumen Technologies Inc said in a blog post they assessed with “moderate confidence” that Volt Typhoon had used such a web shell. A sample of the malware was first uploaded to VirusTotal, a popular site for security experts to research malicious code, on June 7 by an unidentified entity in Singapore, according to Lumen researchers.

The web shell allowed hackers to intercept and gather credentials to gain access to a customer’s network disguised as a bona fide user, they said.
The hackers then breached four US firms, including internet service providers, and another in India, according to Lumen researchers.
General Timothy Haugh, director of the National Security Agency, said in early October that the investigations into the latest telecommunications breaches were at an early stage. Later in October, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa)said they had identified specific malicious activity by actors affiliated with the Chinese government and immediately notified affected companies and “rendered technical assistance”.
A spokesperson for the National Security Council last week referred to the “ongoing investigation and mitigation efforts”, but directed further questions to the FBI and Cisa.
Singtel uncovered the breach of its network after detecting suspicious data traffic in a core back-end router and finding what it believed was sophisticated, and possibly state-sponsored, malware on it, according to the other person familiar with the investigation.
The malware was in “listening” mode and didn’t appear to have been activated for espionage or any other purpose, the person said, adding that it reinforced a suspicion that the attack was either a test run of a new hacking capability or that its purpose was to create a strategic access point for future attacks.
There is evidence that Salt Typhoon reached the US at least as early as spring 2024, and possibly long before, and investigators tracking the group think it has infiltrated other telecommunications companies throughout Asia, including in Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, according to two people familiar with those efforts.
The NSA has warned since 2022 that telecommunications infrastructure was vulnerable to Chinese hacking. Volt Typhoon has been active since at least mid-2020, having attacked sensitive networks in Guam and elsewhere in the US with a goal of burrowing into critical infrastructure and staying undetected for as long as possible.
The hacks by both Chinese Typhoon groups have alarmed Western officials and raised concerns about the number and severity of back doors – a way to get around security tools and gain high-level access to a computer system – that China has placed inside critical IT systems. Those entry points could be used to conduct espionage or prepare the battlespace for use in a potential military conflict with the West.

Chinese hackers have long been accused of conducting espionage attacks against the US – including, most notably, the theft of security clearance applications for tens of millions of US government workers held by the Office of Personnel Management.
But officials say the latest hacks go a step further and in some cases suggest China may be amassing capabilities to disrupt or degrade critical services in the US and abroad.
Retired general Paul Nakasone, who led the NSA for nearly six years until February, told reporters in October that the latest telecommunications hacks by Salt Typhoon were distinguished by their scale, and that the two Chinese groups represent a tremendous challenge for the government. “I am not pleased in terms of where we’re at with either of the Typhoons,” he said. BLOOMBERG

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Switch to backup system failed during Singtel outage on Oct 8: Janil Puthucheary​

Calls to emergency services and healthcare institutions, as well as as banks and businesses, were disrupted in the Oct 8 landline outage. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

Anjali Raguraman
Correspondent

Nov 11, 2024

SINGAPORE – A backup system did not kick in as planned when an unprecedented Singtel outage occurred on Oct 8, causing intermittent service disruption that lasted several hours, said Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Janil Puthucheary on Nov 11.
On Oct 8, calls to emergency services and healthcare institutions, as well as as banks and businesses, were disrupted in the landline outage. The disruption lasted more than three hours before services progressively resumed in the evening.
According to preliminary findings, a network component in one of the two systems supporting Singtel’s fixed line voice service experienced a technical issue, said Dr Janil, who was responding to several questions raised by MPs in Parliament.
“The two systems, located in separate telephone exchanges, are designed to immediately take over the full load of the other when one system malfunctions,” he said.
“However, in this instance, the failover did not happen seamlessly, which caused the intermittent service disruption.”
All services were progressively restored over a four-hour time period from the start of the incident, he said, adding that half of all calls made could still be connected.
He said there is no evidence to suggest that the incident was related to sabotage or cyber-attack.

“IMDA takes a serious view of this incident and is investigating the cause of this disruption and whether Singtel’s incident response was adequate,” said Dr Janil, adding that investigations are continuing.
Singtel is held to a “high level of reliability” in the Government’s regulatory framework, he said, and noted that IMDA will not hesitate to take strong action under the Telecommunications Act, including imposing financial penalties should any lapses be identified.
Singtel previously said the disruption was an “isolated incident”.

Five MPs had asked about what could have caused the Oct 8 landline disruption, how such an incident could be prevented in future, and whether any action will be taken against Singtel.
Dr Tan Wu Meng (Jurong), Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson) and Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang) had asked the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) what the root causes of the disruption were, and whether operational continuity plans are adequate for instances where a telco supports essential hotlines.
Dr Tan also asked the Ministry of Home Affairs whether critical landline hotlines such as 995 and 999 can be protected in the event of a single telco failure. Singtel is currently the only service provider for both hotlines.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling weighed in, saying that the SCDF and police are working with IMDA to consider additional resiliency measures for their hotlines, including considering the “feasibility of telco diversity for our emergency hotlines”.
Ms Sun added there was no public feedback about the SCDF or the police failing to respond to any urgent or life-threatening incident as a result of the disruption.

In a supplementary question, Progress Singapore Party Non-Constituency MP Hazel Poa asked how many people used the alternative SMS numbers to contact the emergency services, and about the public’s awareness of these alternatives.
During the outage, the SCDF and police had urged members of the public to use SMS – 70995 for SCDF and 70999 for the police – to contact them instead.
Ms Sun said she did not have the specific numbers, noting that the SMS numbers “are not new”. But following the outage, the ministry will be “even more enthusiastic” about putting out the numbers, she said.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

M1’s network restored after disruptions to voice call, SMS services​

The telco acknowledged in a Facebook post at 3.16pm that some of its customers were affected. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

Gabrielle Andres
Correspondent

Nov 11, 2024


SINGAPORE – Telco M1’s phone and messaging services were disrupted in the afternoon on Nov 11, with affected users complaining online.
The telecoms company acknowledged in a Facebook post at 3.16pm that some of its customers were affected.
The post said: “Our engineers are investigating, and we will share updates as soon as we can. Customers can continue to make calls using data as M1’s mobile data connectivity is not affected.”
M1 updated the post at 3.36pm, saying that all affected services have been fully restored.
Some of M1’s customers had posted on its Facebook wall, saying that they were neither unable to make or receive phone calls, nor to receive one-time passwords via SMS.
On Downdetector, a website that tracks outages, user complaints started spiking after 1.44pm. The number of complaints reached a peak of 1,773 at 3pm, before falling to 246 at 3.36pm. About two-thirds of the complaints were about mobile phone issues.
The Straits Times has contacted M1 for more information.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Forum: SGH can improve response time for online bookings​

Nov 18, 2024

In the interest of useful feedback, I would like to share a recent personal experience of making an appointment at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) with a specific doctor in mind.

I decided to go for an online booking by e-mail with SGH, as this was possible on its website.

After providing all the necessary information and receiving an e-mail confirmation of my request, I waited for a response.

After four days, I decided to telephone the SGH hotline for appointments. A polite woman at the other end attended to me and within a few minutes, I got a verbal confirmation of a date and time of appointment with my desired doctor.

I find it unacceptable that SGH has a dedicated digital link for making appointments but it is unable to respond speedily within a reasonable timeframe.

I consider a maximum of two working days or 48 hours to be reasonable to reply to a patient. SGH should review its standard operating procedures to remedy this shortcoming. Otherwise, more people like me will only call the SGH hotline.

Raymond Koh Bock Swi