PUBLISHED ONBYSean LerSingapore's point agency coordinating the delivery of aged care services — the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) — has been hit by a cyberattack, with personal data of up to 4,064 employees at public healthcare institutions and community care providers possibly accessed.
In a media statement issued on Thursday (Nov 12), AIC said the cybersecurity incident involving its Advanced Care Planning (ACP) IT system was detected on Nov 10.
It added that the data fields affected are name, contact number, email address and NRIC number.
According to AIC, the system is used by advanced care planning facilitators to help members of the public document their decisions on future care preferences.
The agency's ACP partners include SingHealth, NHG Health, the National University Health System (NUHS), Fei Yue Community Services, SATA CommHealth, Society of Sheng Hong Welfare Services, Montfort Care, Home Nursing Foundation, Sunlove Abode for Intellectually Infirmed, and Lions Befrienders Services Association.
Following the incident, AIC said it made a police report on the same day and that the incident was also reported to the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA).
It also took the system offline while investigations were conducted, before restoring access again on Nov 12.
During the offline period, ACP facilitators continued with documentation using physical forms.
"AIC is continuing to investigate the incident, and will carry out a thorough review of its systems and work with CSA to take immediate mitigating actions to strengthen its cyber defence."
The agency said it will be reaching out to all potentially affected individuals about the incident within the next three days.
"Affected individuals are advised to exercise caution for suspicious and unsolicited emails, messages and calls.
"They should avoid sharing personal information, passwords or one-time passwords with anyone unless they are sure who they are."
Meanwhile, those who suspect that they may be affected by the incident can contact AIC at 1800-650-6060, or via email at enquiries@aic.sg.
[[nid:751097]]