The Cybersecurity (Amendment) Bill will require owners of critical information infrastructure (CII) to disclose cyber incidents as long as their services are affected. These include outages or attacks within their own premises and, soon, even those within their supply chain.
When the changes are in force, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) can impose similar regulations on operators that are deemed to run “systems of temporary cyber-security concern”, like computers behind high-key international events here, which can be targeted by bad actors, said Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Janil Puthucheary.
CSA can also regulate under two new categories entities that may not be deemed critical, but hold sensitive information key to Singapore’s interests.
These entities – dubbed foundational digital infrastructure or entities of special cyber-security interest, which can include autonomous universities – will be subjected to “light touch” regulations, said Dr Janil.
Why it matters:
The changes seek to ensure regulators are not blindsided by the rising trend of third-party cloud service providers and outsourced digital services.
Dr Janil said the definition of “computers” will be expanded to include virtual systems and cloud infrastructure that are increasing in usage.
CII owners have the option of moving to commercial cloud solutions, such as those offered by Amazon Web Services or Alibaba Cloud, while still bearing responsibility for any cyber-security lapses. In turn, they must make clear to third-party vendors that they have to comply with Singapore’s rules.
CSA also seeks to regulate computers behind high-key events like large-scale vaccine distributions or international summits, as they have often been targeted by fraudsters.
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Patients to be charged retroactively for upgrading from lower- to higher-class ward
If a patient stays in a lower-class ward in public hospitals to secure more subsidies for treatments and then upgrades to a higher-class ward later, the level of subsidies will be adjusted retroactively, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.
This move aims to discourage patients from selecting lower ward classes to secure more subsidies for more costly treatments – such as surgery and treatment in the intensive care unit – at the beginning of their stay, and then switching to higher ward classes once these treatments are completed.
Many of these patients are not of lower income and could have chosen the higher ward class from the outset. That is why if a patient upgrades, the level of subsidies will be adjusted retroactively, Mr Ong said.
In April, two readers had written to The Straits Times Forum to say it is unfair to charge retroactively when a patient transfers from a lower-class ward to a higher-class one.
Flexi-work rules alone will not result in jobs here being outsourced
New rules on flexible work arrangement requests will not on their own erode Singapore’s competitiveness and cause jobs to be shifted elsewhere.
There is already a prevailing global trend to outsource roles abroad based on business needs, and Singaporeans need to keep their skills relevant and productivity high to remain competitive, said Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang.
Ms Gan, who is also Minister of State for Education, was responding to questions eight MPs filed on the guidelines’ economic impact and safeguards against errant employers, among other topics.
“We should not pretend that without flexible work arrangements, there’ll be less offshoring,” Ms Gan said in a subsequent exchange with Ms Cheryl Chan (East Coast GRC).
Nominated MP Raj Joshua Thomas sought to clarify what employers should do if workers under the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) opt for a flexi-load arrangement with lower salary for less time worked. The model sets out minimum pay for various job levels in certain sectors and occupations.
Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng, who joined the exchange, said the spirit of the PWM should shape how employers implement the upcoming guidelines.
