Source of Distributed Denial of Service Attack on StarHub in October 2016

Mr Leon Perera asked the Prime Minister (a) whether the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) has identified the possible source responsible for the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on StarHub in October 2016; (b) what response the CSA and the Government intend to take against the person or entities responsible; and (c) what steps the CSA and the Government intend to take to prevent and mitigate similar attacks in future.

The Infocommunications Media Development Authority (IMDA) takes a serious view of the disruptions to StarHub’s residential broadband services on 22 and 24 October 2016. Joint investigations by IMDA and the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) are nearing completion, and findings will be released soon.

Cybersecurity is increasingly important, given Singapore’s reliance on digital technologies and the interconnectedness of digital systems. Collective effort from the Government, industry and the public is needed to build a resilient and trusted cyber environment.

As the regulatory authority for the telecommunications sector, IMDA places stringent standards and requirements on our Internet Service Providers to ensure that their networks are resilient against cyber disruptions. Companies too, must ensure that they have robust and resilient systems, and measures to quickly detect and respond to any disruptions, to minimise the inconvenience to their customers. Users of Internet-connected devices should also adopt good cyber hygiene practices to secure their devices. While there is no fool-proof solution, we must all work together to strengthen our cyber resilience.