Singapore Internet Firm Says Sorry for Cybercop Fisaco
May 3, 1999 - 0:0
SINGAPORE The largest Internet service provider in Singapore issued a mass apology Sunday to its 200,000 subscribers for snooping on their computers to check for a virus without permission. The exercise by Singnet, which asked the Home Affairs Ministry to scan clients' personal computers (PCs) for vulnerability to hacking, triggered fears in the tightly-ruled island that even cyberspace was not free from state control.
The ministry is in charge of the police and internal security. Singnet officials said the ministry's computer experts helped the company patrol its network for a virus called Trojan Horse, which renders computers vulnerable to "hacking" or unauthorized entry. "We apologize unreservedly if we have caused you any undue alarm and also regret not having informed you before we embarked on our virus-detection scanning," Singnet said in an email message to subscribers.
"However, please be assured that we only had your best interests at heart when conducting the exercise," it said. "Why did we do it? We have found that Internet surfers unknowingly download software, screensavers and other material that may be infected with viruses such as the `Trojan Horse'," Singnet's apology said. Singnet is a subsidiary of Singapore telecommunications Ltd., one of Asia's largest listed companies.
It controls half the Internet subscription market in the high-tech city-state where an estimated one in five people uses the Internet, and even income tax returns can be filed on-line. The letter was signed by Paul Chong, chief executive for multimedia activities of Singapore Telecom. Singapore has two other major Internet providers, and the fisaco came amid fierce competition in the industry.
Singnet said the Trojan Horse virus allows the hacker to capture passwords by identifying keystrokes. With that, the hacker will be able to hack into a person's PC and extract content for illegal purposes. "Why did we not inform you of the scanning operation? We did not want to alert hackers of when we were conducting our scans as we did not want to give them the easy opportunity to hack into your PC during the same period," Singnet said.
"We also did not want to cause undue concern among our customers before determining the actual level of Trojan Horse infections," it said. "On hindsight, we should have considered the impact of this exercise on you and been more sensitive to your needs." It likened the exercise to someone knocking on the "door" of a PC. If it is free of the virus, there will be no response.
Otherwise, the scanning program will record the network address of the PC and allow Singnet to alert its owner. "Please rest assured that we have taken special measures to safeguard your privacy before embarking on this exercise. The scanning program used is not a hacking tool and has no ability to enter any computer system. Rather, it is a defensive measure to look for security loopholes," Singnet said.
It said that as a result of the scanning conducted over a one-week period, Singnet discovered that the PCs of nearly 900 customers had been infected by the virus and contacted them about the problem to advise them on corrective action. (AFP)
The ministry is in charge of the police and internal security. Singnet officials said the ministry's computer experts helped the company patrol its network for a virus called Trojan Horse, which renders computers vulnerable to "hacking" or unauthorized entry. "We apologize unreservedly if we have caused you any undue alarm and also regret not having informed you before we embarked on our virus-detection scanning," Singnet said in an email message to subscribers.
"However, please be assured that we only had your best interests at heart when conducting the exercise," it said. "Why did we do it? We have found that Internet surfers unknowingly download software, screensavers and other material that may be infected with viruses such as the `Trojan Horse'," Singnet's apology said. Singnet is a subsidiary of Singapore telecommunications Ltd., one of Asia's largest listed companies.
It controls half the Internet subscription market in the high-tech city-state where an estimated one in five people uses the Internet, and even income tax returns can be filed on-line. The letter was signed by Paul Chong, chief executive for multimedia activities of Singapore Telecom. Singapore has two other major Internet providers, and the fisaco came amid fierce competition in the industry.
Singnet said the Trojan Horse virus allows the hacker to capture passwords by identifying keystrokes. With that, the hacker will be able to hack into a person's PC and extract content for illegal purposes. "Why did we not inform you of the scanning operation? We did not want to alert hackers of when we were conducting our scans as we did not want to give them the easy opportunity to hack into your PC during the same period," Singnet said.
"We also did not want to cause undue concern among our customers before determining the actual level of Trojan Horse infections," it said. "On hindsight, we should have considered the impact of this exercise on you and been more sensitive to your needs." It likened the exercise to someone knocking on the "door" of a PC. If it is free of the virus, there will be no response.
Otherwise, the scanning program will record the network address of the PC and allow Singnet to alert its owner. "Please rest assured that we have taken special measures to safeguard your privacy before embarking on this exercise. The scanning program used is not a hacking tool and has no ability to enter any computer system. Rather, it is a defensive measure to look for security loopholes," Singnet said.
It said that as a result of the scanning conducted over a one-week period, Singnet discovered that the PCs of nearly 900 customers had been infected by the virus and contacted them about the problem to advise them on corrective action. (AFP)