SINGAPORE — Political parties in Singapore have been warned about the threat of foreign interference in elections and cybersecurity risks.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore and the Elections Department (ELD) on Monday (20 April) issued a joint statement and published advisories about the dual threats.

The agencies said foreign interference in elections refers to attempts by foreign actors - countries, agencies, people - to assert influence over elections in a sovereign state.

They cited instances of such interference in the elections of other countries such as in the US presidential and mid-term elections, French presidential elections, German federal elections and the Italian general elections.

“Singapore is not immune, and we need to guard against such nefarious activity as we head towards our own General Election (GE), which must be held by April 2021,” the agencies said.

The advisory on threat of foreign interference in elections states some methods used by foreign actors to interfere in elections such as disinformation and sentiment amplification, and the measures that political parties can take to mitigate the risk of becoming targets.

There have also been instances of malicious cyber activities such as disruptions, defacement or data theft observed in elections held in other countries, the agencies warned.

“As Singapore is a highly digitally-connected nation, we need to also guard against opportunistic attempts to disrupt our election processes, to cast doubts on the integrity of our GE, and attack the credibility of our government,” the agencies said.

The advisory on cybersecurity risks and precautionary measures to political parties provides information on the potential cyber threats and good practices that political parties can take to mitigate such risks.

Political parties play an important role in safeguarding the integrity of our GE and should enhance their understanding of the threat of foreign interference, and their cybersecurity posture, the agencies said. They are advised to make a police report immediately, if they suspect foreign interference in elections or that their account or system has been compromised, and inform the ELD.

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