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Ministry of Digital Development and Information
Press releases

Completion Of Public Sector Data Security Review - To Secure And Protect Citizens’ Data

27 November 2019

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Completion Of Public Sector Data Security Review To Secure And Protect Citizen's Data

27 Nov 2019

The Public Sector Data Security Review Committee (“the Committee”) was convened on 31 March 2019 to conduct a comprehensive review of data security policies and practices across the Public Service. We have completed the work and have submitted our recommendations to the Prime Minister on 26 November 2019.

The Committee was led by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, the Coordinating Minister for National Security and the Minister-in-charge of Public Sector Data Governance. The Committee’s Terms of Reference are:

  • Review how the Government is securing and protecting citizens’ data from end-to-end, including the role of vendors and other authorised non-Government entities;

  • Recommend technical measures, processes and capabilities to improve the Government’s protection of citizens’ data, and response to incidents; and

  • Develop an action plan of immediate steps and longer-term measures to implement the recommendations.

Approach

The Committee notes that the Government has been actively strengthening its data security and cybersecurity. The Government’s data protection standards were first established in 2001. Subsequently the PDPA was enacted in 2012 to govern data protection in the private sector, taking reference from the Government’s standards. In 2018, additional data security provisions were included in the Public Sector Governance Act to strengthen the data security regime.

In formulating our recommendations, we:

  • Conducted an inspection of 336 systems across 94 agencies to identify data security risks and the common causes of data breaches.

  • Studied global and industry best practices, including the practices of the Governments of Canada and the United Kingdom, and companies in the finance and security sectors.

  • Reviewed the Government’s data security related legislation and guidelines i.e. Instruction Manual 8 (“IM8”) and Public Sector Governance Act (“PSGA”) against the requirements for private sector organisations in the Personal Data Protection Act (“PDPA”).

  • Evaluated whether the proposed recommendations would have prevented or mitigated the impact of past data incidents.

Key Recommendations

Based on our findings from the above, we have made five key recommendations as follows:

Table caption

Desired Outcomes

Key Recommendations

Protects data and prevents data compromises

Enhance technology and processes to effectively protect data against security threats and prevent data compromises.

Detects and responds to data incidents

Strengthen processes to detect and respond to data incidents swiftly and effectively.

Competent public officers embodying a culture of excellence

Improve culture of excellence around sharing and using data securely, and raise public officers’ competencies in safeguarding data.

Accountability for data protection at every level

Enhance frameworks and processes to improve accountability and transparency of the public sector data security regime.

Sustainable and resilient manner

Introduce and strengthen organisational and governance structures to drive a resilient public sector data security regime that can meet future needs.

Conclusion

We are confident that our recommendations, when implemented, will significantly improve the Government’s data security regime and enhance the public’s confidence in the Government’s data security regime. The recommendations will also make it clear that requirements and standards imposed on the public agencies are no less stringent than what the private sector has to comply with.

Mr Lee Fook Sun, Chairman, Ensign Infosecurity, said, “The inspections and stock-take have shown that agencies can be better supported in the implementation of data security measures. The Committee has recommended deploying technical tools more widely, which will ensure consistently high compliance with data security measures across the public sector.”

Mr David Gledhill, Senior Advisor, DBS, said, “We conducted a comprehensive review to ensure the recommendations are holistic and are in line with international best practices and industry standards. We are confident that the Committee’s recommendations, if applied then and implemented consistently would have prevented or mitigated the impact of past data incidents.”

Mr Ho Wah Lee, Former KPMG Partner, said, “Taking into account the evolving data security risks and the need to share data effectively and securely within the public sector, we have worked closely with the Government to identify areas that can be improved upon, and taken immediate steps to reduce data risks, protect the public’s data better and strengthen the data security regime. With the recommended enhancements to the audit frameworks, the Government should be able to prevent, detect and respond swiftly and effectively to data incidents.”

PUBLIC SECTOR DATA SECURITY REVIEW COMMITTEE
27 NOVEMBER 2019

Enclosed:

a. Opening remarks by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean (pdf - 490kb)

b. Public Sector Data Security Review Committee Report (pdf - 2.4mb)

c. Annexes to the Public Sector Data Security Review Committee Report (pdf - 1.4mb)

d. PSDSRC Infographic (pdf - 500kb)

For media enquiries, please contact:

Ms Nasrath Hassan
Senior Assistant Director, Adoption and Engagement Directorate
Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore
Mobile: 9001 0050
Email: Nasrath_HASSAN@pmo.gov.sg

Mr Goh Yu Chong
Senior Manager, Adoption and Engagement Directorate
Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore
Mobile: 9644 1674
Email: Goh_Yu_Chong@pmo.gov.sg

About the Public Sector Data Security Review Committee

The Prime Minister convened the Public Sector Data Security Review Committee to review how the Government secures and protects citizens’ data to deliver better services to Singaporeans. This is in view of the increasing complexity of our systems and the evolving data landscape.

The Committee, chaired by Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, Mr Teo Chee Hean, was formed on 31 Mar 2019. It included Ministers involved in Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative as well as non-Government members with expertise in data security and technology.

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