Singapore imposes $740,000 fines

Singapore: Singapore´s privacy watchdog on Tuesday imposed fines of Sg$1 million ($740,000) on a healthcare provider and an IT agency over a cyber-attack that saw health records of about quarter of the population stolen.

In the city-state´s biggest ever data breach, hackers last year gained access to a government database and made off with the records of 1.5 million people, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong among those targeted.

An official inquiry last week highlighted a litany of failings, including weaknesses in computer systems and inadequate staff training and resources, and said authorities believe a state was likely behind the attack.

The official Personal Data Protection Commission announced it was fining Integrated Health Information Systems, which runs the IT systems for Singapore´s public healthcare sector, Sg$750,000. SingHealth, a healthcare provider which groups some public hospitals and clinics, was hit with a Sg$250,000 fine.