Singapore calls military to tackle cyber threat

(AFP): Units in Singapore's military have been called in to help combat a cyberattack against critical infrastructure, the country's defence minister said Saturday -- a hack attempt attributed to an espionage group experts have linked to China.

Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said these select units will work with the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) in a united government response to the threat, local media reported.

Chan described the cyberattack as "one example of the emerging threats" that the military has to handle, the reports said.

There have been no reported breaches so far.

Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam first disclosed the attack late Friday, describing it as a type of Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) that poses a serious danger to the city-state.

An APT refers to a cyberattack in which an intruder establishes and maintains unauthorised access to a target, remaining undetected for a sustained period of time.

"I can say that it is serious and it is ongoing. And it has been identified to be UNC3886," Shanmugam said, referring to the alleged attackers.

Shanmugam, who is also home affairs minister, did not elaborate in his speech on the group's sponsors or the origin of the attack.

But Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant described UNC3886 as a "highly adept China-nexus cyber espionage group".

APT actors typically steal sensitive information and disrupt essential services, such as healthcare, telecoms, water, transport and power, Shanmugam said.

"If it succeeds, it can conduct espionage and it can cause major disruption to Singapore and Singaporeans," he added.