Singapore To Take Government Hardware Offline

Singapore is so concerned by the plague of ransomware and other cyber attacks that its government has decided to take 100,000 government computers off-line. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong acknowledged that such a move would lead to a decrease in productivity but defended the decision by admitting that the the government has been the target of sophsticated cyber attacks over the years.

"It's not to do with being liberal or not being liberal,"
"It's about being safe and secure and doing what is necessary." - P.M. Lee Hsien Loong

The move could be seen as a vote of no confidence in the nation’s ability to defend itself in the cybersphere. Critics have pointed out that the Lee’s words run counter to the government’s drive to create a ‘smart nation’ which would involve greater internet connectivity and more data. However, Lee himself was the victim of a cyber attack in 2013 - http://www.zdnet.com/article/anonymous-hacks-singapore-pm-website/ and this may explain his lack of faith in the city-state's cyber security providers.

The directive is due to take effect from May 2017. Government employees are to be given access to dedicated internet-connected machines, separate from those used to deal with confidential data. Employees will also be afforded the right to browse online from their personal mobile devices during working hours.