Threat against S'pore govt is 'very serious matter'

Threat against S'pore govt is 'very serious matter'

A video purportedly by computer hacker group Anonymous has threatened the Singapore Government with an "aggressive cyber intrusion" if it did not remove its Internet licensing framework.

The 3-minute 42-second video was uploaded on The Real Singapore website.

It was first posted on YouTube on Oct 29, but has since been removed by the user. As of 8.45pm on Thursday, the video had garnered over 700 comments, 2,400 likes and over 4,800 people had shared it.

The video is still available on The Real Singapore website and Facebook page.

It showed an unidentified person - dressed in black and a Guy Fawkes mask - claiming to represent Anonymous.

The video is narrated with what is believed to be a computerised voiceover, protesting against the Government's new licensing rules imposed on news websites.

The new framework, introduced in June, states that websites with more than 50,000 Singapore visitors a month and carrying more than one news story per week must obtain an individual licence.

This entails putting up a $50,000 performance bond.

"We demand you reconsider the regulations of your framework or we will be forced to go to war with you," says the person in the video.

While it remains to be seen how genuine the video is, cybersecurity experts The New Paper spoke to said it was a very serious matter.

Network security company Fortinet's regional director for South-east Asia and Hong Kong, Mr Eric Chan, said: "We can't tell if it's real or not, but we should not ignore it.

"In principle, it is possible to break through a system depending on the time, effort and resources you have. At the same time, anyone can claim link to Anonymous since the group is very fragmented... and there are no fixed patterns between members."

TRACKING

Mr Alex Nian, manager of SecureITNET, said: "Normally when (hackers) do this sort of thing, they are going through an open proxy server. It will be hard to track if they are overseas.

"But if they're doing it from Singapore, it should be easy for the authorities to find them."

Criminal lawyer Foo Cheow Ming said: "Such videos proclaiming war against the Government actually contravene the penal code, and the possible penalty is death."

The Infocomm Development Authority Singapore said it is aware of the video and that the police are investigating the matter, Today reported.

Additional reporting by MATTHAEUS CHOO and WONG CONG XU


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