The Singapore government will establish a new agency to strengthen cyber security, announced the Office of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on January 27.

The creation of the National Cyber Security Agency follows a string of attacks on Singapore government portals, including the websites of the offices of the Prime Minister and President in 2013, as well as recent hacking incidents around the world.

The agency, scheduled to start operation in April 1, will coordinate with public and private sectors in protect national systems in the fields of energy and banking from online threats.

It will also plug current cyber defence gaps, such as breaches involving obscure companies that could potentially compromise the security of citizen data.

The agency will be led by David Koh, 50, Deputy Secretary of Technology at the Ministry of Defence while Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim will be the minister in charge of cyber security.-VNA