Quoting a communications and information ministry spokesman, the online news said there were calls for cyber attacks against the Singaporean government’s social media accounts on public Indonesian chat groups.
The report said the Instagram accounts of president Halimah Yacob, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, senior minister Teo Chee Hean, and foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan were among those that were affected, as was Lee’s Twitter account.
The Instagram accounts of the immigration and checkpoints authority and Singapore tourism board were also spammed, it said.
“In addition, two events management companies have had their websites defaced. The websites have since been recovered and SingCERT will reach out to the companies to extend our assistance,” the spokesman was quoted as saying.
“Organisations are advised to take active steps to strengthen their cyber security posture, heighten vigilance, and bolster their online defences to protect their organisation against possible cyber attacks, such as web defacement and distributed denial of service,” the spokesman added.
SingCERT, or The Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team, responds to cyber security incidents for its Singapore constituents.
It was set up to facilitate the detection, resolution and prevention of cyber security-related incidents on the internet.
The ministry said that local organisations who are affected by a cyber attack or have evidence of any suspicious compromise of their networks should report to SingCERT.
A report can be made online, said the ministry.
On Tuesday, the republic’s home affairs ministry confirmed that Indonesian preacher Abdul Somad Batubara arrived at Singapore’s Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal on May 16 from Batam with six travel companions.
Abdul Somad was interviewed, following which the group was denied entry into Singapore and placed on a ferry back to Batam on the same day, said the ministry.
Among others, the ministry said Abdul Somad has been known to preach “extremist and segregationist teachings”, which are unacceptable in Singapore’s multi-racial and multi-religious society.
It noted that a visitor’s entry into Singapore is “neither automatic nor a right” and “each case is assessed on its own merits”.
“While Abdul Somad had attempted to enter Singapore ostensibly for a social visit, the Singapore government takes a serious view of any persons who advocate violence and/ or espouse extremist and segregationist teachings,” it said.