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In the cyber world, there is no peacetime

Cyber warfare is ubiquitous and relentless, and requires a nation's most determined defences.

Buky Carmeli For The Straits Times

Cyber attacks happen during "peacetime" in the sense that the country attacked is not, strictly speaking, at war. Cyber attackers may target civilian facilities, and may steal personal data or deface official websites. These are meant to be attempts to weaken countries in peace and make them more vulnerable during a physical war, says the writer. PHOTO: REUTERS

Updated

Published

Sep 05, 2018, 05:00 AM

The cyber attack on SingHealth's records that resulted in the theft of patients' personal data, preceded by an attack on the Ministry of Defence to steal the personal details of national servicemen and staff, is an indication that Singapore is very much a target of peacetime warfare.

If "peacetime warfare" sounds like a contradiction in terms, it should not. It is a truism that there would be no war without peace because it is only in peacetime that nations can train troops and build up their arsenal of armaments and munitions.

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