Wiley Handbook of Science and Technology for Homeland Security, 4 Volume Set

SINGAPORE

MANUEL SUTER AND ELGIN BRUNNER

Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich, Switzerland

1 CRITICAL SECTORS

New security threats that have emerged in the post-11 September 2001 era emphasized the need for closer cooperation between the military and homefront agencies in Singapore. Immediately after the attacks in the US in 2001, the homefront agencies undertook a review of the vulnerabilities and strengths of Singapore's national critical infrastructures from the following sectors:

• Banking and Finance,
• Information- and Telecommunications,
• Energy,
• Water,
• Transportation,
• Health [1].

Since 2002, the critical infrastructures of these six sectors have been reviewed and assessed, and remedial plans were implemented. However, infrastructure protection policies in Singapore are not limited to these sectors, but have been expanded to the following sectors:

• Food supply,
• Aviation Security,
• Maritime Security.¹

Even though these sectors have been at the focus of the most recent efforts to prevent terrorism, they do not represent the totality of Singapore's critical infrastructure. Other sectors may well be included in future protection efforts.

2 INITIATIVES AND POLICY

Singapore adopted the internet comparatively early. According to the Network Readiness Index by the World Economic Forum, Singapore was the most network-ready country in 2004–2005 [3]. In spring 2005, the Singaporean government presented a comprehensive “Infocomm Security Masterplan” for the years 2005–2007 that ...