The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) shall be organising the Digital and Intelligence Service, or DIS, to strengthen Singapore’s defence towards threats within the digital area. Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen introduced this in his Committee of Provide (COS) speech on the defence finances on 2 Mar. Because the cybersphere continues to develop, threats from the digital area are additionally growing in sophistication and numbers, stated Dr Ng. There has additionally been proof of nations and non-state entities equivalent to terrorist teams launching assaults throughout each the bodily and digital spheres.

Dr Ng defined: “The addition of this fourth Service, the DIS, will enable the SAF to higher prepare and battle as a networked, built-in and expanded power to take care of (not solely) the spectrum of threats that we all know exist in the present day, but additionally the digital area that we all know will enhance sooner or later. Figuratively, if the digital power is now a battalion power, we really need a couple of brigades, maybe even a Division-size power.”

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The enlargement of digital capabilities in addition to new and upgraded belongings will allow the Subsequent Gen SAF to strike quicker and more durable, and higher shield Singapore towards threats from the digital, land, sea and air domains.

The DIS is anticipated to be arrange by the final quarter of 2022. The DIS is the following step within the improvement of the Command, Management, Communications, Computer systems and Intelligence (C4I) Neighborhood. The SAF has been progressively build up its C4I networks and techniques because the inauguration of the C4I group in 2012. This was adopted by the institution of the Defence Cyber Organisation in 2017, which coordinates cybersecurity throughout the defence sector.

DIS troopers would require specialisations not solely in core IT areas and communications but additionally in various areas together with knowledge science, psychology, linguistics, anthropology and geography, to allow them to know the motivation and means behind assaults by state and non-state teams. Whereas the skillsets required of DIS personnel shall be completely different from these preventing within the bodily domains, they will need to have the identical traits and values as their Military, Navy and Air Power counterparts, equivalent to resilience and “a dedication to the shared mission to boost Singapore’s safety and peace”.

Singapore Armed Forces Launches Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS)
With digital threats anticipated to extend in numbers and class, the DIS would require devoted troopers specialising not solely in core IT areas and communications, but additionally different areas that vary from knowledge science to psychology.