New measures for cyber defence
Defence Ministry sets up new cyber command to ramp up security capabilities
Battles are no longer just fought up close or with conventional weapons - battlefields now also exist in cyberspace.
This is why the Defence Ministry (Mindef) will set up a new cyber command to upgrade its cyber security capabilities.
And, from August, national servicemen will be roped in to take up new vocations for cyber defence.
The new cyber command, announced by Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen in his Committee of Supply speech in Parliament yesterday, will be called the Defence Cyber Organisation (DCO). It will lead and coordinate cyber security here.
It will develop cyber defence strategies and policies and, when necessary, support the national Cyber Security Agency (CSA).
Dr Ng said the DCO will have about 2,600 soldiers, reflecting the importance of this new battlefront.
He added: "The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) must keep up with the tactics and operations of aggressors in the cyber realm, a neverending game, as they do in conventional warfare."
On Tuesday, it was revealed that the personal details of 850 national servicemen and Mindef staff were stolen last month, in what Mindef has described as a targeted and carefully planned cyber attack.
A new group, the Cyber Defence Group (CDG), comprising a Security Monitoring Unit and an Incident Response and Audit Unit, will also be created.
(SAF) must keep up with the tactics and operations of aggressors in the cyber realm, a never ending game, as they do in conventional warfare.Defence minister Ng Eng Hen
The CDG will be responsible for round-the-clock cyber defence of the SAF's networks, and it will deploy response teams to identify, contain and neutralise cyber threats.
The group will also be responsible for the Cyber Test and Evaluation Centre (CyTEC), which has been operational since 2015.
Dr Ng also announced that NSmen will be trained in vocations for cyber defence.
Full-time national servicemen and national servicemen will have to possess relevant cyber skills, experience and academic background to be selected as cyber defenders and deployed to the DCO, as well as SAF units such as the CDG, according to operational requirements.
These servicemen will be identified and selected for the vocations by August this year.
They can also be deployed to work with counterparts in the CSA as a pilot project.
Dr Ng said: "Just as security troopers now physically protect key installations, we will deploy these NS cyber defenders to protect our installations together with CSA."
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