Cybersecurity Bill released for public consultation in Singapore

Singaporeans will get a say on the future of cybersecurity in their country after a proposed Bill was put up for feedback.

The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) have invited the public to provide feedback on a proposed Cybersecurity Bill.

If the proposed Bill gets the go-ahead, critical information infrastructure (CII) owners in Singapore must report security breaches, and cyber-security vendors providing highly sensitive services will need to be licensed.

A CSA statement said that cyber-attacks are getting increasingly frequent, sophisticated and impactful.

“In Singapore, the recent Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks targeting two of our universities, and the occurrence of the global WannaCry and Petya/Petna malware attacks which also reached our shores, serve as stark reminders of Singapore’s vulnerability to cyber threats,” the statement said.

It continued that as a small nation with one of the highest levels of digital connectivity in the world, a major cyber-attack will have a significant impact on Singapore.

“The proposed Cybersecurity Bill will establish a framework for the oversight and maintenance of national cybersecurity in Singapore, and will empower CSA to carry out its functions,” the statement said.

“The Bill also aims to minimise the risks of cyber threats, and ensure that we can better deal with cyber attacks.”

The public consultation period has started and will run to 3 August 2017. The public consultation paper and procedures for submission of feedback are available on the REACH public consultation portal at www.reach.gov.sg and CSA’s website at www.csa.gov.sg.