Singapore beefs up national cyber security with new agency

[UPDATED 9:40pm 27 January 2015: Clarified the roles of Yaacob and Koh]

Singapore on Tuesday announced the formation of a Cyber Security Agency, which will provide “dedicated and centralised oversight of national cyber security functions”.

Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim will be the Minister-in-charge of Cyber Security, the Prime Minister's Office said in a media release.

The CSA will begin operations from 1 April 2015, and the Ministry of Defence’s deputy secretary for technology, David Koh, will be its chief executive, assuming both roles concurrently, according to the PMO.

“The CSA will consolidate and build upon the government’s cyber security capabilities, including those currently residing in MHA [Ministry of Home Affairs] and IDA [Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore]… These include strategy and policy development, cyber security operations, industry development and outreach,” the PMO said.

The CSA will also work with the private sector in order to develop a “cyber-security ecosystem", it added.

In 2013, Singapore grappled with several cyber attacks by hackers who identified themselves as part of the global hacker group “Anonymous”.

Earlier last year, a 43-year-old Singaporean and his 18-year-old accomplice were indicted for defacing Istana’s website.

Last month, a 28-year-old was sentenced to two-months jail for defacing the PMO's website, while last week, 36-year-old James Raj Arokiasamypleaded guilty to 39 charges of computer misuse.

James Raj hacked into the webservers of People’s Action Party Community Foundation (PCF) and Ang Mo Kio Town Council.