Security

• Transnational terrorism


  Violent attacks conducted by terrorist organisation(s) beyond their county's borders to achieve their objectives and operations
• Transnational terrorist groups


  • Al Qaeda
  • Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)
  • ISIS
• Transnational terrorist groups coordinate their operations globally using advanced communications and digital technology
• Transnational terrorism


  • Can result in injuries, deaths and destruction of properties
  • Economic costs and losses as businesses are disrupted
  • Can lead to distrust, fears and tensions among different communities
  • Can lead to hate crimes towards ethnic communities that are of similar religious or ethnic backgrounds to the terrorist groups
  • Disrupt harmony and destabilise the country
  • Increase the threat of self-radicalisation (due to the influence of propaganda)
• Cyber threats


  Unauthorised access to online information systems and data
• Types of cyber threats


  • Website defacement
  • Phishing
  • Malware infection
• Cyber attacks


  • Latitude Financial suffered a massive cyberattack that resulted data breach with customer records stolen from its system in 2023
  • Hackers infiltrated the database of patients in SingHealth in Singapore in 2018 through a malware-infected computer workstation
• Cyber threats


  • Can lead to identity-theft
  • Can lead to economic losses
• Signs of self-radicalisation


  • Collecting news articles on terrorist groups
  • Surfing on radical websites for religious content
  • Uploading pro-terrorist materials on social media
  • Attempts to radicalise others
• What individuals can do

  • Stay vigilant to tell-tale signs of self-radicalisation (family members/friends)
  • Stay vigilant in public to keep a look out for suspicious items and characters
  • Report to the authorities (e.g. police) when there are sufficient grounds for suspicion
  • Join/take part in community programmes that promote social harmony
• Regional Counter-Terrorism Node (RCTN)


  • Enables police units in the Asia-Pacific region to work together and encourages the transfer of intelligence concerning terrorist activities
  • Set up by the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL)
• "Our Eyes" Initiative


  • Enhance strategic information-sharing on terrorism and radicalism
  • Set up by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
• Cooperation among countries


  • The threats cannot be tackled by a country alone
  • Helped the countries to prevent possible terrorist attacks and respond swiftly during terrorist incidents
  • Improve the countries' competency and effectiveness in tackling transnational terrorism
• Government measures within the country

  • Border-management measures (monitoring and surveillance infrastructure for stricter security checks; use of biometrics to verify identity)
  • Internal Security Act (ISA) (law used to investigate security threats like terrorism and acts of violen or hatred using race or religion; able to detain individuals who pose a security threat to Singapore)
• Government measures within the country

  • Proactively prevent potential terrorist attacks from occurring within the country
  • Able to act swiftly and decisively against dangers to security of Singapore
  • Provide guidance and social support to reduce re-engagement in terrorist-related activities and remain resilient to radical influences
• What individuals can do

  • Install, update and maintain firewalls, anti-virus programs and detection software that protect against spyware and malware
  • Create strong password such as at least 8 characters long that include numbers, symbols, uppercase and lowercase
  • Change passwords regularly
  • Be cautious when surfing websites by checking that it is secure (e.g. Lock symbol)
  • Do not click on instant messages, pop-ups and unexpected email links from unknown sources which may contain malware
• What individuals can do


  • Ensure no security lapses and improve one's cybersecurity
  • Made it more difficult for hackers to access our account and hack into the system
  • Reduce vulnerability towards cyber attacks
  • Strengthen the security of cyber landscape for individuals, organisations and country
• Cooperation between

  • Joint Operation between Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) (cracked down on a criminal organisation involved in at least a hundred cases of Internet love scams across the 3 countries, used a system to share information on the criminals and their activities)
• Cooperation among countries


  • The threats cannot be tackled by a country alone
  • Allowed the countries to have better information and worked to close in and arrest the criminals
  • Improve the region's awareness and competency in responding to cybersecurity challenges
  • Enhanced the ability of the different countries to tackle the cybersecurity challenges swiftly
  • Strengthen the country's and the region's protection against cyber threats
• Government measures within the country

  • Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) (national agency to oversee and coordinate all aspects of cybersecurity, build resilient digital infrastructure to protect Critical Information Infrastructure(CII), enable a safer cyberspace for businesses and individuals, enhance international cyber cooperation, develop a vibrant cybersecurity ecosystem, grow a robust cyber talent pipeline)
• Government measures within the country


  • Continue to stay up to date with security threats and responses
  • Enhance the cybersecurity and cyber-resilience of the country at different levels (from individuals, organisations to government)
  • Improve the country's ability to track respond swiftly to security threats
  • Reduce the opportunities for hacking and be resilient enough to withstand against the different cyber threats