SINGAPORE: Units in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) have been responding to the ongoing cyberattack by an alleged China-linked threat actor on Singapore's critical infrastructure, said Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing on Saturday (Jul 19). 

These select units will work with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) in a whole-of-government effort to manage the incident, he added. 

Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam first revealed on Friday that Singapore was actively dealing with the "highly sophisticated" UNC3886 group, which he said posed a serious danger to Singapore and could undermine national security. 

UNC3886 has been described by Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant as a "China-nexus espionage group" that has targeted prominent strategic organisations on a global scale.

On Saturday, Mr Chan was one of three Cabinet ministers to address the attack.

Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said in a Facebook post that Singaporeans should be aware about the ongoing cyberspace threats the country faces, and that there was "never a perfect time" to disclose such incidents.

"We always have to strike a fine balance between maintaining operational security and raising public awareness, especially while live operations are ongoing," she added. 

"Imagine if threat actors succeeded in taking down any of our critical systems, such as water, power or telco networks. The knock-on effects could be devastating."

On the sidelines of a community event in Chong Pang on Saturday, Mr Shanmugam was also asked why the Singapore government decided to name the attackers.

He said Singaporeans ought to know where the attack was coming from, and that attackers have been named in the past.

"The number of incidents we disclose are far smaller than the actual number of attacks, and we don't disclose because of national security or public interest reasons," he added.

"This time round, our assessment was that we can disclose those details. I released very little, very few details ... we have confidence as to who the attacker was. So we thought that that is appropriate to disclose." 

When asked about UNC3886's alleged links to China and possible retaliation for naming them, Mr Shanmugam, who is also Home Affairs Minister, said this was "speculative".

"Who they are linked to and how they operate is not something I want to go into," he said.

CHINESE EMBASSY RESPONDS

On Saturday, the Chinese embassy in Singapore noted that Singapore media outlets had cited "so-called information from a certain country's cybersecurity company" and claimed UNC3886's link to China.

The Chinese government expresses "strong dissatisfaction" over the claim and opposes any "groundless smears and accusations", the embassy said in a statement posted on Facebook at 4.30pm.

"The embassy would like to reiterate that China is firmly against and cracks down (on) all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with law. China does not encourage, support or condone hacking activities," it added.

"Keeping the cyberspace safe is a global challenge and China stands ready to work with Singapore and the rest of the world to jointly protect cybersecurity." At around 9.30pm, the embassy posted another message on Facebook, this time in Chinese, saying that China has also been a frequent victim of cyberattacks.

It cited incidents in recent years involving attacks on Chinese institutions, including major universities and infrastructure systems. The attacks, the embassy said, came mainly from South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and North America. It added that cybersecurity is a global challenge requiring all parties to work together to tackle.

OPERATIONAL READINESS

Mr Chan on Saturday described the cyberattacks as an example of the type of emerging threats that the SAF and MINDEF have had to handle.

Speaking to journalists during a visit to Selarang Camp, Mr Chan also addressed the importance of readiness among operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen).

Countries can buy machines if they have money, but the "most critical" component of Singapore's defence is the "fighting spirit" of its men, he said.

"To see the men being prepared, spend time and effort to maintain their fitness, to maintain their operational currency - that to us is the greatest deterrence that we can have," said the Defence Minister. 

He pointed to new operational challenges, including the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, that Singapore is learning lessons from.

"Many of these things we would have anticipated prior, and we will be ready. We can't be starting our preparations after we see what people do," said Mr Chan. 

"We don't necessarily have to show everyone what we have and what we do. We must be quietly confident that we are able to handle the range of threats."