National Cybercrime Action Plan INTRODUCTION 1. The growth of the Internet has created numerous opportunities for Singapore. Today, vast amounts of information are exchanged via the Internet; the Internet has become an indispensable communication and business tool for many of us. 2. Where there are opportunities, there are also risks. The Internet has been exploited by criminal elements to commit cybercrimes like scams, hacks and thefts, causing financial loss and harm to many. We therefore need a concerted and coordinated response to effectively deal with the cybercrime threat. The National Cybercrime Action Plan (NCAP) sets out the Singapore Government’s plans to deter, detect and disrupt cybercrimes. What is cybercrime? 3. In Singapore, the term ‘cybercrime’ refers to two categories of offences2: a. Offences where a computer system is the target of a criminal act; and b. Offences where traditional crimes are committed via the means of a computer system. 4. The first category of offences is covered by the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act (CMCA), and includes criminal acts like the unauthorised access and the unauthorised modification of a computer system. 5. The second category of offences describes traditional crimes that are committed via the Internet. In the digital world, crimes like fraud and extortion are committed online in the form of e-commerce scams and cyber-extortions respectively. The Internet has afforded criminals anonymity, as well as the opportunity to commit crimes quickly, easily and on a large scale. These characteristics of cybercrime pose significant challenges to law enforcement. The current situation Prevalence of the Internet 6. The Internet is becoming more prevalent and indispensable to everyday life in Singapore. The proportion of resident households in Singapore with household Internet access has climbed steadily in recent years, from 65% in 2004 to 88% in 20143. More Singaporeans are transacting The two categories are not mutually exclusive; there may be cybercrimes that fall into both categories (e.g. causing physical injury by sabotaging an Internet-of-Things enabled appliance, or the theft of data stored on a computer, which is then sold to criminal syndicates). 3 “Annual survey on infocomm usage in households and by individuals for 2014.” iDA. <https://www.ida.gov.sg/~/media/Files/Infocomm%20Landscape/Facts%20and%20Figures/SurveyReport/2014/2014%20HH%20public%20repor t%20final.pdf> 2 National Cybercrime Action Plan 4 OF 17