MINDEF to deploy sectoral cyber teams to help defend critical services

SINGAPORE – To strengthen the resilience of Singapore’s critical information infrastructure (CII) against advanced persistent threats (APTs), MINDEF will organise its cyber defenders into teams and deploy them to key sectors.

Recognising that many national servicemen (NSmen)

have skills in the fast-changing cyber and tech domains

from their private sector careers, Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) will organise such NSmen into sectoral cyber defence teams (SCDTs) to help tackle threats to Singapore’s CII.

Expanding on this, Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad said at the debate on MINDEF’s budget on Feb 27 that SCDTs will be deployed from June, strengthening capabilities and complementing the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore in defending the Republic’s CII, such as the vital sectors of telecommunications, power and transport.

Mindef said the SCDTs will comprise both regulars and NSmen, and will shift the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) posture from “reactive incident response towards a coordinated and proactive strategy”.

The new teams will come under DIS’ Defence Cyber Command Cyber Protection Group, and will help build up sector-specific cybersecurity communities which can share best practices. This move will also ensure that NSmen with the relevant cyber skill sets are meaningfully deployed in key operational roles, the ministry added.

The ministry also announced on Feb 27 that the first phase of SAF’s digital range will be operational in 2026, with an upgraded Cyber Defence Test and Experimentation Centre (CyTEC) that is able to simulate sophisticated cyber defence scenarios using artificial intelligence.

Akin to how a live-firing range hones soldiers’ warfighting capabilities, the digital range is meant to be a training environment for cyber defenders.

Mindef said that the digital range will initially build on the existing CyTEC building. It will facilitate more complex collaborations with government partners, CII operators and commercial companies, and also enable SAF to connect remotely with overseas partners for multilateral cyberdefence exercises.

In his speech, Mr Chan noted that cyber and digital tools are increasingly preferred by state and non-state actors to exert pressure just short of full-scale war.

As a deeply digitally integrated country, Singapore has a larger surface area of attack as its systems are tightly coupled. Such integration also means that the lines between civilian and military targets are blurred, and the city-state is no stranger to such tactics being used against it, he added.

The DIS will thus better organise NSmen with relevant cyber expertise into SCDTs aligned to the country’s CII sectors, said Mr Chan.

Speaking to the media on Feb 24, the Cyber Protection Group commander, Senior Lieutenant Colonel (SLTC) Benjamin Lim, said the formation of SCDTs means SAF is shifting from episodic contributions to defending critical sectors, to a more organised and persistent effort.

This is being done to guard against APT groups which are themselves organised, sophisticated and persistent, he added. “If successful, these threat actors could access sensitive information for espionage purposes and also potentially disrupt our essential services that our citizens depend on on a daily basis.”

One such group, UNC3886,

had attacked all four major telcos in Singapore

, the authorities revealed on Feb 9. No sensitive data was accessed or exfiltrated, and critical systems such as the 5G core were also not compromised.

Asked if this attack played a role in the decision to form SCDTs, SLTC Lim said the teams were established for a more persistent, proactive and collaborative defence of Singapore’s CII sectors.

Mindef said NSmen with matching talents and relevant civilian expertise can express interest in serving in the DIS through the Enhanced Expertise Deployment Scheme, which was launched in 2022 to place those with specialised civilian expertise in relevant military roles.

Military Expert 4 (NS) Lye Han Wei, 35, is among the soldiers who will be part of the telecommunications SCDT.

As a cyberthreat intelligence and response manager with the Infocomm Media Development Authority, he analyses emerging cyberthreats and produce actionable threat intelligence reports.

As part of his day job, he works closely with telco operators to ensure their networks are resilient and that they can recover quickly after a cyber incident. He is also involved in digital forensics and incident response activities.

ME4 Lye said he can leverage such skills in his NS role to manage cybersecurity operations, and for threat intelligence analysis.

The former DIS regular said: “The practical insights and hands-on experience I have developed working closely with the telco operators are something that is valuable, and that I can bring to my team in my NS deployment.”