Distinguished Guests,
Community Partners,
Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I)
Introduction
1.
It is my
pleasure to join you for the launch of the Online Industry Safety and Security Watch
Group.
2.
I am very heartened to see many stakeholders from the industry gathering
here today, to pledge your support to make the online arena a safer community
for all.
II)
Importance
of Community Partnerships
3.
The safety and
security of Singapore has been a cornerstone of our nation’s progress and
prosperity, providing the stability not just for our community but also for
businesses to succeed.
4.
We have done
well. The 2020 Gallup Global Law and
Order Report ranked Singapore first for the seventh
consecutive year in terms of law and order, and our crime
rates continue to remain low.
5.
Our
achievement is in a large part due to our strong partnerships with the
community.
6.
In 2019, about
one in four arrests involving major offences, such as robbery and
housebreaking, were made with the help of members of the public.
7.
Many volunteers
partner us as crime prevention ambassadors, supporting the Police in community
patrols in your neighbourhoods.
8.
The Police
also work closely with the business community on safety and security issues, in
particular, crime, and also in preventing the threat of terrorism.
9.
Today, we have
more than 1,500 partners on the Safety & Security Watch Groups, or SSWGs.
10.
These
geography-based SSWGs have been successful to enable businesses to strengthen
crime prevention measures and to implement target-hardening measures for their
premises, to better protect against localised attacks or even crime.
11.
In 2008, we brought
together businesses in the same industry to address common industry-specific
safety and security concerns.
12.
Since then, we
set up six industry SSWGs in the chemical, financial, hotel, retail,
manufacturing, and public entertainment sectors.
13.
These industry
SSWGs have contributed significantly to our security efforts.
14.
For example, the
Singapore Hotel Association has proactively led the hotel industry in our
SGSecure movement. Many hotel businesses have worked closely with the Home Team
to stress-test their emergency response plans and strengthen the security of
their premises.
15.
This is just
but one of the many positive examples of the strong government and industry
partnership.
16.
On this note, I
would like to express a very big thank you to our community and business partners,
like yourselves, for your steadfast commitment and your efforts in keeping
Singapore safe.
17.
Our strong
partnership has served us well to keep Singapore safe and secure and we must
continue to build on these strong foundation and ties.
III)
Evolving
Crime and Threat of Terrorism
18.
Today, our
operating theatre continues to evolve very quickly with the advancement of
technology, and with the rapid digitalisation of products and services.
19.
This is further
accelerated due to COVID-19, as more businesses and personal activities begin
to move online.
20.
These have
supported economic growth and job creation and enabled the economy to function during
the pandemic. Can you imagine if the pandemic were to happen about 20 years
ago, I think our country and the world will come to a standstill.
21.
Technology has
allowed us to live our lives, to continue learn and to continue to work, but at
the same time, they have also brought about new security threats and
challenges.
22.
The nature of
crime is beginning to shift rapidly. While the physical crime rate has remained
low, online crimes have begun to surge, in particular, scams.
23.
In the first
half of 2020, the number of Police reports on the top 10 scams have more than
doubled compared to the same period in 2019. More than $82 million were lost, double
the amount in the first half of 2019.
24.
Majority of
the scams take place on e-commerce and social media platforms, such as
Carousell, Shopee, Facebook and Instagram, where victims are often cheated into
transferring money to fraudulent sellers, or tricked into disclosing their
personal banking details by fake social media accounts.
25.
In other
instances, scammers also used mass automated voice calls and mass messaging via
SMS and services such as Whatsapp and WeChat, to search for potential victims.
26.
Terrorism has
also expanded its reach and influence via online channels.
27.
Digital
platforms offer new means to spread extremist propaganda to a wider group of
communities. Their designs and algorithms can also create echo chambers and entrench
extremist beliefs.
28.
These have
serious consequences in the real world, as seen in the Christchurch shooting in
2019, where more than 50 were killed.
29.
The attacker developed
his extremist views from the Internet. He was deeply immersed in extremist
internet forums and connected with others on the social media, who reinforced
his own beliefs.
30.
The attacker
also weaponised the Internet to publicise his manifesto and broadcast the attack
‘live’ on Facebook.
31.
The content was
widely viewed on many other social media platforms, including messaging apps, as
many platforms struggled to remove the offensive content online.
32.
In November
last year, we announced we are investigating more than 30 radicalised individuals.
Some of them had incited violence against France in social
media postings, while others had made comments to stoke communal unrest. We took
firm actions, arrested one subject and repatriated a number of them.
33.
These online
security threats can instil fear in our people and foment distrust among communities.
They can lead to real-life violence and harm.
34.
We must enhance
our framework, and devise new strategies to deter, to prevent and to bring
criminals to task.
IV)
Efforts to
Tackle the New Threats
35.
We have
strengthened our laws and enhanced our capabilities to deal with these emerging
threats.
36.
The
Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act was amended in 2019 to enable us to take
effective and decisive action against threats to religious harmony.
37.
Specifically,
we removed the need for a 14-day notice period before Restraining Orders can be
effected. The scope of the Orders will be expanded to require offenders to take
down offensive content online. These tools allow for a swifter response to stem
such content at its source before it goes viral.
38.
Certain
offences on religious harmony will be made extra-territorial to cover offences
perpetuated overseas that impact Singapore.
39.
We also
introduced provisions to guard against foreign influence on our religious
groups.
40.
On the scam
front, we rolled out a new campaign to educate the public to be more discerning
and launched the Scamshield mobile application to filter scam calls and
messages.
41.
The Police
have also forged stronger partnerships with businesses and industry partners.
42.
We
operationalised the Anti-Scam Centre in 2019 with firm support from banks, fintech
companies, telecommunication companies, and online marketplaces and new platforms.
43.
This enabled
us to more effectively disrupt the scammers’ operation. Since its set-up, the
centre has handled more than 8,600 scam reports, and recovered more than 40% of
the total amount scammed from these victims.
44.
Criminals and
terrorists will continue to be inventive and will exploit the vulnerabilities
of the virtual space.
45.
We must stay
ahead of these technological developments.
46.
Our community
partnerships must go beyond the physical sphere, involving business partners
and entities online, to strengthen the ecosystem for a more effective and
coordinated response to these threats.
V)
Formation of
Online iSSWG
47.
Today, I am
happy to announce the launch of the
Online Industry SSWG, which formalises the partnership between Police and the
Asia Internet Coalition to create a safer online community for all users.
48.
The online
iSSWG will promote greater exchange of information to fight crime and counter
the threat of terrorism. It will enhance public awareness on common scam
tactics and cyber safety, it will encourage the sharing of expertise and best
practices to strengthen the security of online platforms, and support the
development of guidelines, frameworks or industry standards to create safe
online communities.
49.
I am pleased
to note that some of the major companies have taken on the responsibility of
doing more to protect online users.
50.
For example, Facebook
has recently launched an online educational portal in 2019, called ‘We Think
Digital’, with resources on topics such as online security, privacy and critical
thinking, to enhance digital literacy skills of Internet users all around the
world.
51.
We are glad Facebook
has chosen to run this programme in Singapore first, and has partnered the
People’s Association to benefit the seniors in our community.
52.
Google has
also introduced the ‘Be Internet Awesome’ initiative to help kids explore the
virtual world safely and implemented the Google Safety Centre to safeguard
users against security threats online.
53.
The Online
iSSWG will further strengthen the efforts of other online players, to combat
online scams and security threats. Collectively, these measures would benefit not
only the users, but also enhance the trust users have in the industry.
54.
Please allow me now to say a few words in Mandarin:
今天我很高兴宣布网络行业安全与保安小组的成立。
小组的成立确认了警方和亚洲互联网联盟之间的伙伴关系。
社区和工商业伙伴的合作一直以来是警方打击犯罪工作的核心。
我们希望通过网络行业安全与保安小组，能促进信息交流、分享最佳作业方式并提高公众对诈骗手段和网络安全的认知，以加强我们打击网络诈骗和其他罪案的能力。
VI)
Conclusion
55.
In conclusion,
community and industry partnership has always been at the core of our crime
fighting efforts.
56.
We value the
importance of working closely with our community and business partners, to innovate
and build new capabilities to deal with evolving challenges.
57.
We look
forward to your unwavering partnership and support to make Singapore safe and
secure for all.
58.
I wish
everyone a happy and healthy new year, and a fruitful seminar ahead.