PRE-INQUIRY CONFERENCE OF THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY INTO THE CYBERSECURITY ATTACK ON SINGHEALTH
7 August 2018 – The Committee of Inquiry (COI)1, convened on 24 July 2018 to inquire into the events and contributing factors leading to the cybersecurity attack on Singapore Health Services Private Limited (SingHealth)’s patient database system on or around 27 June 2018, held their first administrative meeting on 25 July 2018. On the same day, the COI Chairman Mr Richard Magnus also met the Solicitor-General, Mr Kwek Mean Luck, who has been designated by the Attorney-General to lead evidence in the inquiry. They discussed the appointment of investigators to assist the COI with investigating matters relevant to the inquiry.
At the first pre-inquiry conference (PIC) on 7 August 2018, the Solicitor-General informed the COI that the Public Prosecutor had appointed an investigation team led by the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and supported by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to investigate any matter relevant to the inquiry.
Agreeing on the importance of thorough investigations, the COI Chairman accepted at the 7 August PIC the Solicitor-General’s request for time to investigate into the matters set out in the TOR and directed the Solicitor-General to update the COI on the status of the investigation at the next PIC on 14 August 2018.
All hearings of the COI will be held in public unless it is expedient to conduct aspects of the inquiry in camera, in the interests of public security or for other sufficient reasons, given the nature of cybersecurity. International and local expert witnesses will be called upon by the COI to give evidence on cybersecurity measures and hygiene. The dates of the public and in camera hearings will be made known in due course. The COI will also receive public submissions and will advise the public when and how these submissions should be submitted.
The COI will be conducting a site visit to SingHealth on 15 August 2018 to be briefed on the network architecture of the affected IT systems and the cybersecurity measures in place before the cybersecurity attack.
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1 Retired Senior (subsequently termed Chief) District Judge Mr Richard R Magnus is the Chairman of the COI. The other members of the Committee are Mr Lee Fook Sun, Chairman of Quann World Pte Ltd; Mr T K Udairam, Group Chief Operating Officer of Sheares Healthcare Management Pte Ltd; and Ms Cham Hui Fong, Assistant Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress.