Singapore’s Defense Minister Jang Chun Singh says the selected military forces are helping fight cyberattacks on the country’s critical infrastructure.
The forces of Singapore’s military have been called to help fight cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, the defense minister said on Saturday.
Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing said these selective units will work with the Cybersecurity Agency (CSA) in a unified government response to the threat.
Chang described cyberattacks as “an example of a new threat” the military must handle, the report said.
No violations have been reported so far.
National Security Minister K. Shanmugam first revealed the attack late on Friday, describing it as a high-permanent threat (APT) that poses serious danger to city-states.
APT refers to a cyberattack in which an intruder establishes and maintains unauthorized access to a target, with a persistent period of time remaining undetected.
“I can say it’s serious and continuous. And it’s been identified as UNC3886,” Shanmugam said, referring to the alleged attacker.
Shanmugam, who is also the Minister of Home Affairs, did not elaborate on his group’s sponsorship or speeches about the origins of the attack.
However, Google-owned cybersecurity company Mandiant described UNC3886 as “a very skilled Chinese and Nexus cyberspy group.”
APT actors usually steal sensitive information and disrupt important services such as health care, communications, water, transportation and electricity, Shanmugam said.
“If that’s successful, it can be espionage and create a huge disruption for Singaporeans and Singaporeans,” he added.
“Stealth enemy”
For example, successful violations of Singapore’s electricity system can have knock-on effects on critical services such as healthcare and transportation, leading to havoc in electricity supply.
“There are also economic impacts. Our banks, airports, and industries cannot operate. Our economy can be effectively affected,” Shanmugam said.
Between 2021 and 2024, APT suspicions against Singapore have increased more than four times.
The 2018 cyber violation of the Public Health Cluster accessed medication records for around 160,000 patients, including then-Prime Minister Lee Heen Long.
The Beijing Embassy in Singapore on Saturday expressed “strong dissatisfaction” in media reports linking UNC3886 to China.
In a statement, the embassy said it was “sturdy against China’s unfair coloring,” and said “in fact, China is one of the main victims of cyberattacks.”
“China will firmly oppose and crack down on any form of cyberattack in accordance with the law. China does not encourage, support or tolerate hacking activities,” the statement added.
Asked by a reporter about the link between UNC3886 and China on Saturday, a Straits Times newspaper told Shanmugam, “As far as Singapore’s government is concerned, I am confident it is this particular organisation.
Information Minister Josephine Theo said in a Facebook post on Saturday that alleged attackers were made public, saying, “It’s important for Singaporeans to know where the attacks are coming from, and what the potential outcome will be.”
The attack on Singapore’s critical infrastructure highlights the extraordinary challenges posed by APT actors,” said Satnam Narang, senior staff research engineer at US-based cybersecurity firm Tenable.
“The struggle against such stealthy enemies is becoming increasingly tough as the scale and complexity of the infrastructure that organizations and nations must defend continues to grow,” he said.
©2025 AFP
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