Singapore releases new cyber security bill

Hanoi (VNA) - Singapore has released a new bill on cyber security, aiming to set up a legal framework to reduce risks of cyber attacks in the country, local newspaper Straits Times reported on July 11. 

The bill, to which the country’s Cyber Security Agency (CSA) spent almost two years working on, aims to remove lines between cyber attack threats and public and private sectors by improving the critical information infrastructure (CII), including administration systems of banking, telecommunication, transportation, healthcare and essential energy services. 

It allows the CSA to conduct investigation once an attack occurs while mandating affected companies or organisations to share information with the CSA. 

The bill also confers power on the CSA's chief as Commissioner of Cybersecurity to investigate threats and relevant issues to ensure essential services are not disrupted in the event of a cyber attack. 

The first cyber security bill includes proactive measures to minimise disruption to essential services when such attacks happen, including notifying the commissioner of the CII suffering a cyber-security attack. 

The CII owners are asked to report the cyber attack within a few hours, otherwise they will be fined up to 100,000 Singapore dollars (72,220 USD) or imprisoned for maximum 10 years. 

The draft bill is released for public consultation until August 3 and will be submitted to the parliament to discuss later this year. -VNA