Singapore Fighting Alleged China-Linked Cyberattack In Whole-Of-Government Approach

A top Singapore minister on Saturday said its security agencies are fighting the ongoing cyberattack on the city-state’s critical infrastructure by an alleged China-linked threat actor, a claim denied by the Chinese Embassy here as “groundless smears and accusations.”

Google-owned cybersecurity firm 'Mandiant' described UNC3886 as a “China-nexus espionage group” that has targeted prominent strategic organisations on a global scale, Channel News Asia reported.

Singapore's Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing was one of three Cabinet ministers to speak about the attack On Saturday.

“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 covering global trade.

“The Select SAF and MINDEF units will work with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) in a whole-of-government effort to manage the incident,” Channel News Asia quoted Chan as saying.

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.

On Saturday, on the sidelines of a community event, 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,” he said, and added, “This time round, our assessment was that we can disclose those details.” When asked about UNC3886's alleged links to China and possible retaliation for naming them, 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.

Meanwhile, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo, in a Facebook post, said 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,” the Channel quoted Minister Teo as saying.

The Chinese embassy in Singapore noted that local media outlets had cited “so-called information from a certain country's cybersecurity company” and claimed UNC3886 was linked to China.

The Chinese government expresses “strong dissatisfaction” over the claim and opposes any “groundless smears and accusations,” the Channel quoted the embassy statement.

“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 cyberspace safe is a global challenge and China stands ready to work with Singapore and the rest of the world to jointly protect cybersecurity,” the statement added.

Singapore is a growing global business hub with predominantly Chinese origin entrepreneurs among the six million population and “strong age-old business ties” with China going back to centuries in the city state, which is home to almost all multinational corporations.