Singapore to treat infosec as equivalent public good to fresh running water The deputy chief executive of Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency, Brigadier General Gaurav Keerthi, says the island nation now considers providing a secure environment to citizens and businesses the equivalent of providing fresh water and sewerage services, and will next week improve digital hygiene with a voluntary " …
America is supposedly a First World nation and at or near the top of everything. You've failed to MAGA in any meaningful *posative* way. When _Singapore_ realizes that the internet is a basic need like clean water and decides to secure it as such, yet you have done nothing but put a boot licking lackey into the top position of the federal agency tasked with keeping our communications safe, at what point do you finally realize that you are, in fact, an utter shit stain on America specificly and the world in general?
Signed, America.
Uhhhhhhhhhhhh as a US citizen I have no idea what you're going on about, but is Singapore's internet services already state ran or is this a step to further that goal?
Here in the USA our ISP's are so corrupt that I really don't care if internet services are state ran or not as they can't get worse (we already pay the taxes of MegaCorp ISP's, check your bill). However, trying to convince me that this new audio-visual telegraph service is as equal to fresh water sounds like very ominous foreshadowing presenting many aspects of control, oligarch "capitalism" and more. What's next, the greed of the filthy rich is equal to clean air... wait...
Visitors to the island state should understand Singapore is an authoritarian state dressed up to look nice.
The 'domestic' InterNet is usage heavily monitored, similarly to the Chinese Fire Wall and many URLs are not accessible, Commercial subscribers have unfettered access to the world InterNet but they, too, are similarly monitored and the police are known to occasionally visit commercial users to instruct them on the proper use of the InterNet.
Naturally, cell services are similarly monitored to ensure 'proper' use of the facilities. The only communications with free access to the world are satellite based. BTW, ensure your Bluetooth remains 'off'.
Remember, too, Echelon-member GCHQ has a listening station, within a well-known centrally located Army camp.
Addendum: The article mentions 'fresh water'. Singapore proudly recycles sewer water - best to buy bottled! (Check: https://www.dw.com/en/singapores-toilet-to-tap-concept/a-16904636 )
Singapore is the i-device of nations. If you like the way it works, and how it does things, and you like working with it, it's really insanely cool (the way Jobs himself would said it).
If you don't, the clash will be frustrating and futile; you have to adapt to it, or go somewhere else.
How much do you know about the drinking water in, say, the US? The NEWater process claims to use reverse osmosis and radiation. The output of THAT goes into their usual water purification process.
If this is done competently, this is going to be really high quality water.
"The scheme will initially see gateways provided by ISPs and smart hubs rated with a four-star assessment of their security."
Once the same approach extends to all kit (not just that supplied - and presumably ranked - by ISPs) we might be getting somewhere. Four years ago in a response to the US Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity we recommended this, citing the success of the BSI kite mark in raising product quality standards. That's a just a voluntary scheme but it soon became so influential that you couldn't sell relevant kit without it.
Here in Italy the government already has the "SPID" system (Sistema Pubblico di IDentità - Public Identity System) to access government services - but when a minister proposed to extend it to the private sector (i.e. banks) received immediate critics - the government would know what private services citizens access when and where. Singaporean may find it acceptable - given what kind of rule they are accustomed to - I believe it will be far more difficult in other counties.
Banks have already good reasons to adopt safe practices because a lot of money are at stake (and can still make the user pay) - while IoT makers race to the bottom to maximize profits, two very different sectors.
"Singapore to treat infosec as equivalent public good to fresh running water"
It's not a public good. Sure, it's good for the public, it's a good that is provided to the public but it's not a "public good". Which is something that is non-rivalrous and non-excludable. They can indeed turn your water off, it's excludable. And - barring that recycling - the water you've just drunk is not available to the next person, it's rivalrous.
The absence of pandemic cholera that results from a decent water and sewage system is indeed a public good. But the water itself isn't.
Yes, this is more than mere pendantry. Sure, infosec can be a state provided good to the public. But it's not going to be a "public good".
Well that is disappointing! I was all set to go buy an economics pendant which could write. That way I wouldn't always lose it, like I do with pens. By the way, is an economics pendant macro or micro? A macro economics pendant might be too gaudy for my (lack of) taste. Finally, will an economics pendant put me to sleep, like my college economics course did?
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