The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) is investigating a threat made by a member claiming to be from the hacktivist group, Anonymous, and has alerted the police.
Tech-news website ZDNet reported on Friday evening that it had received a statement from "Anonymous" containing personal information, such as the names, government email addresses, birth dates, nationalities, passport numbers and mobile phone numbers of 10 individuals.
"Anonymous" had said in the statement that it intends to publicise the information over the next day, adding that the list is "the tail end of a file containing the personal information of thousands of people associated with a certain Singaporean security corporation that does much business with the government".
Based on the email addresses included in the statement, ZDNet said the people in the list were from various agencies such as the Singapore Police Force, the Central Narcotics Bureau, and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.
But when the tech-news site conducted a check, it found that not all the information were accurate and updated. While some of the data were correct, a few phone numbers were not in use, some email addresses were outdated, and at least one set of passport number did not match.
In a statement issued late on Friday night, IDA said: "The Singapore Government takes cyber security seriously. We do not condone actions designed to intimidate the Government."
It added that all government agencies have to comply with government IT security policies such as conducting regular security tests, and protecting all data. Service level agreements are also in place to ensure third-party vendors meet the required level of security.
"The IDA is looking into any possible compromise of employee records and has alerted the police," said the statement. IDA also urged businesses and individuals to enhance cyber security. They can visit the GoSafe Online website at www.gosafeonline.sg to learn more about how to protect themselves against cyber threats or seek assistance.
"Anonymous" reportedly took issue with the arrests of 35-year-old James Raj Arokiasamy, the alleged hacker behind the pseudonym "The Messiah" who faces one charge of hacking into the Ang Mo Kio Town Council website on Oct 28, and 17-year-old Melvin Teo and Delson Moo, 42, who allegedly hacked into and defaced the Istana website.
"Anonymous" reportedly said in its statement that the local authorities had taken a "heavy handed approach" towards James Raj, while Melvin and Moo's case "stretches credulity to breaking point".
