‘No indication’ devices from Singapore contributed to US cyberattack: CSA
By Kevin Kwang Posted 27 Oct 2016 13:39 Updated 27 Oct 2016 13:40
SINGAPORE: There is no indication that devices from Singapore contributed to the attack against US-based domain name service provider Dyn, which resulted in Web services like Twitter, Spotify and Reddit experiencing downtime, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) said on Wednesday (Oct 26).
In its reply to queries by Channel NewsAsia, a CSA spokesperson said there is a wide range of Internet-connected devices manufactured from various countries on the market, and that any of these devices could be commandeered by hackers anywhere in the world. These cybercriminals can, in turn, direct the zombie devices to take down a targeted site by flooding it with Web traffic.
Dyn on Wednesday shed more light on the Oct 21 attack on its managed DNS infrastructure, with the company’s EVP of Product Scott Hilton stating in a blogpost that the attack was “complex and sophisticated”, and confirming that the Mirai botnet was the primary source of malicious attack traffic.
Mirai is a malware that targets insecure Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as webcams and home routers, and the source code for the malware was released on the open Web earlier in October before the Dyn attack took place.
Chinese manufacturer Hangzhou Xiongmai was fingered as the maker of compromised webcams used in the Dyn attack, and said it would recall as many as 10,000 infected devices as a result. Mr Li Yuexin, Xiongmai’s marketing director, told Reuters on Tuesday that the company would recall the first few batches of surveillance cameras made in 2014 that monitor rooms or shops for personal use.
Threat research company Flashpoint had actually flagged the company as early as Oct 7, after similar large-scale DDoS attacks were conducted on security research Brian Kreb’s blog and French Web hosting company OVH. Flashpoint researchers said then that Xiongmai sells white-labelled DVRs, IP cameras and software to other vendors who then use these in their own products.
“Altogether, over 500,000 devices on public IPs around the world appear susceptible to this vulnerability,” according to the security note.
Local telco StarHub had on Wednesday also identified such compromised devices as the cause for DDoS attacks that resulted in two broadband outages it suffered on Oct 22 and Oct 24. It stopped short of linking its downtime with that of the attack on Dyn.
The attack on StarHub was the first of that nature on Singapore’s infrastructure, according to the CSA and Infocomm Media Development Authority.
- CNA/cy
- wong chee tat :)
Showing posts with label StarHub. Show all posts
Showing posts with label StarHub. Show all posts
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Broadband service outages due to DDoS attacks: StarHub
Broadband service outages due to DDoS attacks: StarHub
Posted 25 Oct 2016 15:36 Updated 25 Oct 2016 23:07
SINGAPORE: The two recent broadband service outages that hit StarHub were the result of "intentional and likely malicious attacks" on its servers, the telco confirmed on Tuesday (Oct 25), adding that the attacks were "unprecedented in scale, nature and complexity".
In a media statement, StarHub said: "We have completed inspecting and analysing network logs from the home broadband incidents on Oct 22 and Oct 24 and we are now able to confirm that we had experienced intentional and likely malicious distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on our domain name servers (DNS).
"These two recent attacks that we experienced were unprecedented in scale, nature and complexity," it said.
Starhub said that the DDoS attacks caused temporary web connection issue for some of its home broadband customers. "On both occasions, we mitigated the attacks by filtering unwanted traffic and increasing our DNS capacity, and restored service within two hours. No impact was observed on the rest of our services, and the security of our customers’ information was not compromised."
The broadband service provider said it would continue to stay vigilant against possible follow-up DDoS attempts, and is working closely with the authorities to determine intent and source of these two DDoS attacks.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said that the possibility of a DDoS attack could not be ruled out, and noted that StarHub's outages came on the heels of Friday’s attack against the US-based domain name system service provider Dyn.
StarHub had earlier said it detected a "spike in data traffic" coming into its domain name servers (DNS) that temporarily affected the Web connection for some of its home broadband customers during the time of the outage.
A DNS is a database that translates Web addresses, such as www.nameofwebsite.com, into machine readable sets of digits for customers to view websites on their computers.
"When a DNS is not operating optimally, customers may face difficulty in accessing the Internet," the telco said.
After detecting the sudden increase in traffic to the servers, StarHub said it immediately started filtering the unwanted traffic and added DNS capacity to manage the "huge increase in traffic load". As a result, some customers temporarily faced intermittent broadband access, it said.
The telco added that there was no impact on its mobile broadband, enterprise and home voice services, and the security of customers’ information was not compromised.
According to StarHub, the home broadband service for affected customers was fully restored at about 11.25pm on Monday.
The company said that initial investigations pointed to similarities between the outage on Monday and the first incident last Saturday.
- CNA/mz/ek
- wong chee tat :)
Posted 25 Oct 2016 15:36 Updated 25 Oct 2016 23:07
SINGAPORE: The two recent broadband service outages that hit StarHub were the result of "intentional and likely malicious attacks" on its servers, the telco confirmed on Tuesday (Oct 25), adding that the attacks were "unprecedented in scale, nature and complexity".
In a media statement, StarHub said: "We have completed inspecting and analysing network logs from the home broadband incidents on Oct 22 and Oct 24 and we are now able to confirm that we had experienced intentional and likely malicious distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on our domain name servers (DNS).
"These two recent attacks that we experienced were unprecedented in scale, nature and complexity," it said.
Starhub said that the DDoS attacks caused temporary web connection issue for some of its home broadband customers. "On both occasions, we mitigated the attacks by filtering unwanted traffic and increasing our DNS capacity, and restored service within two hours. No impact was observed on the rest of our services, and the security of our customers’ information was not compromised."
The broadband service provider said it would continue to stay vigilant against possible follow-up DDoS attempts, and is working closely with the authorities to determine intent and source of these two DDoS attacks.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said that the possibility of a DDoS attack could not be ruled out, and noted that StarHub's outages came on the heels of Friday’s attack against the US-based domain name system service provider Dyn.
StarHub had earlier said it detected a "spike in data traffic" coming into its domain name servers (DNS) that temporarily affected the Web connection for some of its home broadband customers during the time of the outage.
A DNS is a database that translates Web addresses, such as www.nameofwebsite.com, into machine readable sets of digits for customers to view websites on their computers.
"When a DNS is not operating optimally, customers may face difficulty in accessing the Internet," the telco said.
After detecting the sudden increase in traffic to the servers, StarHub said it immediately started filtering the unwanted traffic and added DNS capacity to manage the "huge increase in traffic load". As a result, some customers temporarily faced intermittent broadband access, it said.
The telco added that there was no impact on its mobile broadband, enterprise and home voice services, and the security of customers’ information was not compromised.
According to StarHub, the home broadband service for affected customers was fully restored at about 11.25pm on Monday.
The company said that initial investigations pointed to similarities between the outage on Monday and the first incident last Saturday.
- CNA/mz/ek
- wong chee tat :)
Possibility of DDoS attack on StarHub broadband service cannot be ruled out: IMDA
Possibility of DDoS attack on StarHub broadband service cannot be ruled out: IMDA
Posted 25 Oct 2016 18:09 Updated 25 Oct 2016 22:21
SINGAPORE: Authorities are not ruling out the possibility of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack in the two outages that telco StarHub's broadband service saw in the space of two days.
In a joint statement to the media on Tuesday (Oct 25), the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said: "We have been paying close attention to developments as it happened on the heels of Friday’s attack against the US-based domain name system service provider, Dyn. We cannot rule out the possibility that this was a DDoS attack."
Earlier on Tuesday, StarHub said Monday's outage came after it detected a "spike in data traffic" coming into its domain name servers. The telco said it is currently investigating the root cause, including whether the spike in traffic was malicious in intent.
"What is important now is for StarHub to determine the root cause of the problem and prevent a recurrence," said IMDA and CSA in their joint statement.
"IMDA is working closely with StarHub to investigate the matter and strengthen its infrastructure and processes.
OTHER TELCOS ADVISED TO STEP UP DEFENCES
In the statement, IMDA said it also advised the other telcos to step up their defences in case there are similar disruptions to their systems.
Responding to queries from Channel NewsAsia's, Singtel said it has measures in place to safeguard its network.
“We did not observe any abnormal traffic trends over the past weekend, but will continue to monitor our networks closely. We have a robust monitoring system and resilient protection mechanisms in place to safeguard our networks,” a spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia.
M1 said it is "aware of the recent cyber-attacks and is on alert".
"We have made significant investments to defend our systems against cyber-attacks, including DDoS attacks," said Mr Chua Hian Hou, assistant general manager of corporate communications at M1.
In the joint statement, CSA added that it is "studying and addressing the risks of DDoS attacks on our communications systems, as well as the measures to mitigate the impact of such attacks if they happen."
CSA added that it would also reach out to educate the public and businesses on the need to properly secure their systems.
- CNA/dt
- wong chee tat :)
Posted 25 Oct 2016 18:09 Updated 25 Oct 2016 22:21
SINGAPORE: Authorities are not ruling out the possibility of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack in the two outages that telco StarHub's broadband service saw in the space of two days.
In a joint statement to the media on Tuesday (Oct 25), the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said: "We have been paying close attention to developments as it happened on the heels of Friday’s attack against the US-based domain name system service provider, Dyn. We cannot rule out the possibility that this was a DDoS attack."
Earlier on Tuesday, StarHub said Monday's outage came after it detected a "spike in data traffic" coming into its domain name servers. The telco said it is currently investigating the root cause, including whether the spike in traffic was malicious in intent.
"What is important now is for StarHub to determine the root cause of the problem and prevent a recurrence," said IMDA and CSA in their joint statement.
"IMDA is working closely with StarHub to investigate the matter and strengthen its infrastructure and processes.
OTHER TELCOS ADVISED TO STEP UP DEFENCES
In the statement, IMDA said it also advised the other telcos to step up their defences in case there are similar disruptions to their systems.
Responding to queries from Channel NewsAsia's, Singtel said it has measures in place to safeguard its network.
“We did not observe any abnormal traffic trends over the past weekend, but will continue to monitor our networks closely. We have a robust monitoring system and resilient protection mechanisms in place to safeguard our networks,” a spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia.
M1 said it is "aware of the recent cyber-attacks and is on alert".
"We have made significant investments to defend our systems against cyber-attacks, including DDoS attacks," said Mr Chua Hian Hou, assistant general manager of corporate communications at M1.
In the joint statement, CSA added that it is "studying and addressing the risks of DDoS attacks on our communications systems, as well as the measures to mitigate the impact of such attacks if they happen."
CSA added that it would also reach out to educate the public and businesses on the need to properly secure their systems.
- CNA/dt
- wong chee tat :)
StarHub broadband service suffers second outage in 2 days
StarHub broadband service suffers second outage in 2 days
Posted 24 Oct 2016 23:07 Updated 25 Oct 2016 09:04
SINGAPORE: Customers of telco StarHub took to social media to air their frustrations about a second broadband service outage on Monday evening (Oct 24), two days after the first outage.
Singer Taufik Batisah was among the StarHub customers who joined in the chorus of complaints, commenting that they had to rely on their mobile data for their Internet connection instead.
In response to queries by Channel NewsAsia, a StarHub spokesperson said: "We are aware that some broadband customers are facing difficulties accessing the Internet. We are looking into this right now, and will provide our customers with updates through our Facebook page."
In a post on its Facebook page on Tuesday at 1.25am, StarHub said that at about 11.20pm on Monday, it rectified a network equipment issue that had temporarily affected their residential broadband service since about 10pm the same day.
"We are currently investigating the root cause of this incident. We have been monitoring the service in the past two hours to ensure it remains stable for our customers, and thank everyone for their patience and understanding."
StarHub had also attributed Saturday's outage to a "network equipment issue", which it fixed at 2am on Sunday.
- CNA/ek
- wong chee tat :)
Posted 24 Oct 2016 23:07 Updated 25 Oct 2016 09:04
SINGAPORE: Customers of telco StarHub took to social media to air their frustrations about a second broadband service outage on Monday evening (Oct 24), two days after the first outage.
Singer Taufik Batisah was among the StarHub customers who joined in the chorus of complaints, commenting that they had to rely on their mobile data for their Internet connection instead.
In response to queries by Channel NewsAsia, a StarHub spokesperson said: "We are aware that some broadband customers are facing difficulties accessing the Internet. We are looking into this right now, and will provide our customers with updates through our Facebook page."
In a post on its Facebook page on Tuesday at 1.25am, StarHub said that at about 11.20pm on Monday, it rectified a network equipment issue that had temporarily affected their residential broadband service since about 10pm the same day.
"We are currently investigating the root cause of this incident. We have been monitoring the service in the past two hours to ensure it remains stable for our customers, and thank everyone for their patience and understanding."
StarHub had also attributed Saturday's outage to a "network equipment issue", which it fixed at 2am on Sunday.
- CNA/ek
- wong chee tat :)
Starhub fibre broadband service outage sparks customers' ire
Starhub fibre broadband service outage sparks customers' ire
Posted 22 Oct 2016 23:30 Updated 23 Oct 2016 02:32
SINGAPORE: StarHub customers took to social media to air their frustrations following a fibre broadband service outage by the local telco on Saturday evening (Oct 22).
According to affected StarHub customers on social media, the outage started at around 10.00pm.
Responding to queries from Channel NewsAsia, a StarHub spokesperson said the telco is “working as fast as it can to fix an issue affecting customers' broadband service” and added that updates on the outage will be provided on its Facebook page.
"Our engineers are continuing to work to rectify the situation as soon as possible for customers. Updates to come."
In a Facebook post at 2.00am on Sunday, StarHub said they have since rectified a network equipment issue and are now closely monitoring the situation to ensure the service stabilises for their customers.
- CNA/xk
- wong chee tat :)
Posted 22 Oct 2016 23:30 Updated 23 Oct 2016 02:32
SINGAPORE: StarHub customers took to social media to air their frustrations following a fibre broadband service outage by the local telco on Saturday evening (Oct 22).
According to affected StarHub customers on social media, the outage started at around 10.00pm.
Responding to queries from Channel NewsAsia, a StarHub spokesperson said the telco is “working as fast as it can to fix an issue affecting customers' broadband service” and added that updates on the outage will be provided on its Facebook page.
"Our engineers are continuing to work to rectify the situation as soon as possible for customers. Updates to come."
In a Facebook post at 2.00am on Sunday, StarHub said they have since rectified a network equipment issue and are now closely monitoring the situation to ensure the service stabilises for their customers.
- CNA/xk
- wong chee tat :)
Broadband service outages due to DDoS attacks: StarHub
Broadband service outages due to DDoS attacks: StarHub
Posted 25 Oct 2016 15:36 Updated 25 Oct 2016 23:07
SINGAPORE: The two recent broadband service outages that hit StarHub were the result of "intentional and likely malicious attacks" on its servers, the telco confirmed on Tuesday (Oct 25), adding that the attacks were "unprecedented in scale, nature and complexity".
In a media statement, StarHub said: "We have completed inspecting and analysing network logs from the home broadband incidents on Oct 22 and Oct 24 and we are now able to confirm that we had experienced intentional and likely malicious distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on our domain name servers (DNS).
"These two recent attacks that we experienced were unprecedented in scale, nature and complexity," it said.
Starhub said that the DDoS attacks caused temporary web connection issue for some of its home broadband customers. "On both occasions, we mitigated the attacks by filtering unwanted traffic and increasing our DNS capacity, and restored service within two hours. No impact was observed on the rest of our services, and the security of our customers’ information was not compromised."
The broadband service provider said it would continue to stay vigilant against possible follow-up DDoS attempts, and is working closely with the authorities to determine intent and source of these two DDoS attacks.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said that the possibility of a DDoS attack could not be ruled out, and noted that StarHub's outages came on the heels of Friday’s attack against the US-based domain name system service provider Dyn.
StarHub had earlier said it detected a "spike in data traffic" coming into its domain name servers (DNS) that temporarily affected the Web connection for some of its home broadband customers during the time of the outage.
A DNS is a database that translates Web addresses, such as www.nameofwebsite.com, into machine readable sets of digits for customers to view websites on their computers.
"When a DNS is not operating optimally, customers may face difficulty in accessing the Internet," the telco said.
After detecting the sudden increase in traffic to the servers, StarHub said it immediately started filtering the unwanted traffic and added DNS capacity to manage the "huge increase in traffic load". As a result, some customers temporarily faced intermittent broadband access, it said.
The telco added that there was no impact on its mobile broadband, enterprise and home voice services, and the security of customers’ information was not compromised.
According to StarHub, the home broadband service for affected customers was fully restored at about 11.25pm on Monday.
The company said that initial investigations pointed to similarities between the outage on Monday and the first incident last Saturday.
- CNA/mz/ek
- wong chee tat :)
Posted 25 Oct 2016 15:36 Updated 25 Oct 2016 23:07
SINGAPORE: The two recent broadband service outages that hit StarHub were the result of "intentional and likely malicious attacks" on its servers, the telco confirmed on Tuesday (Oct 25), adding that the attacks were "unprecedented in scale, nature and complexity".
In a media statement, StarHub said: "We have completed inspecting and analysing network logs from the home broadband incidents on Oct 22 and Oct 24 and we are now able to confirm that we had experienced intentional and likely malicious distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on our domain name servers (DNS).
"These two recent attacks that we experienced were unprecedented in scale, nature and complexity," it said.
Starhub said that the DDoS attacks caused temporary web connection issue for some of its home broadband customers. "On both occasions, we mitigated the attacks by filtering unwanted traffic and increasing our DNS capacity, and restored service within two hours. No impact was observed on the rest of our services, and the security of our customers’ information was not compromised."
The broadband service provider said it would continue to stay vigilant against possible follow-up DDoS attempts, and is working closely with the authorities to determine intent and source of these two DDoS attacks.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said that the possibility of a DDoS attack could not be ruled out, and noted that StarHub's outages came on the heels of Friday’s attack against the US-based domain name system service provider Dyn.
StarHub had earlier said it detected a "spike in data traffic" coming into its domain name servers (DNS) that temporarily affected the Web connection for some of its home broadband customers during the time of the outage.
A DNS is a database that translates Web addresses, such as www.nameofwebsite.com, into machine readable sets of digits for customers to view websites on their computers.
"When a DNS is not operating optimally, customers may face difficulty in accessing the Internet," the telco said.
After detecting the sudden increase in traffic to the servers, StarHub said it immediately started filtering the unwanted traffic and added DNS capacity to manage the "huge increase in traffic load". As a result, some customers temporarily faced intermittent broadband access, it said.
The telco added that there was no impact on its mobile broadband, enterprise and home voice services, and the security of customers’ information was not compromised.
According to StarHub, the home broadband service for affected customers was fully restored at about 11.25pm on Monday.
The company said that initial investigations pointed to similarities between the outage on Monday and the first incident last Saturday.
- CNA/mz/ek
- wong chee tat :)
Compromised home devices triggered broadband outages: StarHub
Compromised home devices triggered broadband outages: StarHub
By Kevin Kwang Posted 26 Oct 2016 19:10 Updated 27 Oct 2016 08:56
SINGAPORE: Web-connected devices bought by StarHub subscribers were the cause of the "illegitimate traffic" that resulted in the distributed denial of service (DDoS) the telco suffered twice in two days, said StarHub's chief technology officer (CTO) Mock Pak Lum on Wednesday (Oct 26).
In a media briefing, Mr Mock said affected devices such as broadband routers and webcams were responsible for the spike in Web traffic the telco saw last Saturday and Monday nights.
However, he did not disclose how many devices or IP addresses were compromised, or what was the exact volume in the spike in Web traffic its domain name server (DNS) farms had to handle in a short space of time.
The illegitimate traffic to the DNS resulted in an overload that disrupted Web connection for "some" broadband users, Mr Mock said. "Not everyone was affected," he added, saying that some users would have gotten to their desired webpage if they had waited long enough.
As remedial action, the telco said it has increased DNS capacity by 400 per cent since Saturday, and is also implementing traffic filtering and source tracing to identify the source of Web traffic surges.
It is also looking to deploy its technical team - HubTroopers - to subscribers identified with compromised devices to help them troubleshoot. This could either be done at their homes or, with their permission, taken back to StarHub for further investigation.
That said, the CTO said his team is working to scrub through the logs to see if the traffic spike was linked to the attack on US-based Dyn DNS. He noted that there are similarities in that compromised connected home devices were used to conduct the attack, but that it was too early to draw any conclusion.
He also could not comment as to why only StarHub was attacked by the compromised devices, while other Internet service providers were not affected.
StarHub is working with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) in terms of sharing information from its investigations, he added.
In the meantime, Mr Mock stressed that "everyone has a role to play in cybersecurity". "The reward is now too huge" for cybercriminals and the online threat will be "prevalent for a long time to come", the CTO said.
He suggested that consumers only get devices that are "reputable", remember to change the default passwords and set up the necessary defences such as firewalls after buying the devices.
He also cautioned against blindly opening up Web links sent from friends via emails, for instance, as this could potentially lead to malware being downloaded into the device without the user's knowledge.
DDoS ATTACKS LIKELY TO BE MORE COMMON: EXPERTS
The CSA and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said in a joint statement that the DDoS attacks are the first such incident against Singapore's telco infrastructure, and reiterated that they are working "closely" with StarHub to investigate the matter.
Commenting on StarHub's announcement, Mr John Lim, course manager at Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Information Technology, told Channel NewsAsia that he was not surprised that compromised embedded devices were used to stage the DDoS attacks.
He said that PCs and Macs have become much more secure today, but this is not so for devices such as webcams or routers.
"You cannot just install antivirus on these devices," Mr Lim said.
Additionally, consumers can now shop for such connected devices from e-commerce sites such as Taobao, and many times these are brands that are not known here and there is little to no information on the kind of defences manufacturers have installed, he said.
With the proliferation of these Web-connected devices, Mr Lim said he "won't be surprised if there will be other similar attacks that might affect the other two telcos" in the future.
Other experts Channel NewsAsia spoke to concurred, with one pointing to the gaining popularity of the Internet of Things.
"There's research done that 50 billion devices will be connected in 2020. Just imagine: 50 billion (devices) attacking your organisation," said Mr Vincent Loy, Asia Pacific Cyber & Financial Crime Leader at PwC Singapore.
Mr Loy too added that many devices are not built with security in mind.
"They were built to do a certain function; security was not part of it; they do not have password control. They do not have security control, they do not have a log in or back up. The Government and private sector need to work together to come up with a solution in coming up with security by design," Mr Loy said.
Mr Stephen Dane, a managing director at Cisco Systems (HK), pointed to the need for companies to pay more attention to security.
"It's really important to design a network and your infrastructure with high availability in mind, to ensure that not all your eggs are in one basket when it comes to protecting or providing data and holding records on behalf of customers; or in fact, having a website that's associated with just one domain name server," he said.
"It's important to build that resiliency into your infrastructure and ensure that there's high availability as much as possible, so that you are ensuring that the target is distributed as much as possible and therefore the risk is reduced," he added.
Additional reporting by Alice Chia.
- CNA/kk/dl
- wong chee tat :)
By Kevin Kwang Posted 26 Oct 2016 19:10 Updated 27 Oct 2016 08:56
SINGAPORE: Web-connected devices bought by StarHub subscribers were the cause of the "illegitimate traffic" that resulted in the distributed denial of service (DDoS) the telco suffered twice in two days, said StarHub's chief technology officer (CTO) Mock Pak Lum on Wednesday (Oct 26).
In a media briefing, Mr Mock said affected devices such as broadband routers and webcams were responsible for the spike in Web traffic the telco saw last Saturday and Monday nights.
However, he did not disclose how many devices or IP addresses were compromised, or what was the exact volume in the spike in Web traffic its domain name server (DNS) farms had to handle in a short space of time.
The illegitimate traffic to the DNS resulted in an overload that disrupted Web connection for "some" broadband users, Mr Mock said. "Not everyone was affected," he added, saying that some users would have gotten to their desired webpage if they had waited long enough.
As remedial action, the telco said it has increased DNS capacity by 400 per cent since Saturday, and is also implementing traffic filtering and source tracing to identify the source of Web traffic surges.
It is also looking to deploy its technical team - HubTroopers - to subscribers identified with compromised devices to help them troubleshoot. This could either be done at their homes or, with their permission, taken back to StarHub for further investigation.
That said, the CTO said his team is working to scrub through the logs to see if the traffic spike was linked to the attack on US-based Dyn DNS. He noted that there are similarities in that compromised connected home devices were used to conduct the attack, but that it was too early to draw any conclusion.
He also could not comment as to why only StarHub was attacked by the compromised devices, while other Internet service providers were not affected.
StarHub is working with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) in terms of sharing information from its investigations, he added.
In the meantime, Mr Mock stressed that "everyone has a role to play in cybersecurity". "The reward is now too huge" for cybercriminals and the online threat will be "prevalent for a long time to come", the CTO said.
He suggested that consumers only get devices that are "reputable", remember to change the default passwords and set up the necessary defences such as firewalls after buying the devices.
He also cautioned against blindly opening up Web links sent from friends via emails, for instance, as this could potentially lead to malware being downloaded into the device without the user's knowledge.
DDoS ATTACKS LIKELY TO BE MORE COMMON: EXPERTS
The CSA and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said in a joint statement that the DDoS attacks are the first such incident against Singapore's telco infrastructure, and reiterated that they are working "closely" with StarHub to investigate the matter.
Commenting on StarHub's announcement, Mr John Lim, course manager at Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Information Technology, told Channel NewsAsia that he was not surprised that compromised embedded devices were used to stage the DDoS attacks.
He said that PCs and Macs have become much more secure today, but this is not so for devices such as webcams or routers.
"You cannot just install antivirus on these devices," Mr Lim said.
Additionally, consumers can now shop for such connected devices from e-commerce sites such as Taobao, and many times these are brands that are not known here and there is little to no information on the kind of defences manufacturers have installed, he said.
With the proliferation of these Web-connected devices, Mr Lim said he "won't be surprised if there will be other similar attacks that might affect the other two telcos" in the future.
Other experts Channel NewsAsia spoke to concurred, with one pointing to the gaining popularity of the Internet of Things.
"There's research done that 50 billion devices will be connected in 2020. Just imagine: 50 billion (devices) attacking your organisation," said Mr Vincent Loy, Asia Pacific Cyber & Financial Crime Leader at PwC Singapore.
Mr Loy too added that many devices are not built with security in mind.
"They were built to do a certain function; security was not part of it; they do not have password control. They do not have security control, they do not have a log in or back up. The Government and private sector need to work together to come up with a solution in coming up with security by design," Mr Loy said.
Mr Stephen Dane, a managing director at Cisco Systems (HK), pointed to the need for companies to pay more attention to security.
"It's really important to design a network and your infrastructure with high availability in mind, to ensure that not all your eggs are in one basket when it comes to protecting or providing data and holding records on behalf of customers; or in fact, having a website that's associated with just one domain name server," he said.
"It's important to build that resiliency into your infrastructure and ensure that there's high availability as much as possible, so that you are ensuring that the target is distributed as much as possible and therefore the risk is reduced," he added.
Additional reporting by Alice Chia.
- CNA/kk/dl
- wong chee tat :)
DDoS attack on StarHub first of its kind on Singapore's telco infrastructure: CSA, IMDA
DDoS attack on StarHub first of its kind on Singapore's telco infrastructure: CSA, IMDA
Posted 26 Oct 2016 21:20 Updated 26 Oct 2016 23:35
SINGAPORE: The Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on StarHub’s broadband network were the first of that nature on Singapore's telco infrastructure, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said on Wednesday evening (Oct 26).
This comes after the telco revealed in a media briefing on Wednesday that compromised devices such as webcams and routers owned by its customers led to the DDoS attacks.
In a joint statement, CSA and IMDA said attacks on Domain Name Services (DNS), as seen in StarHub’s case, are “generally rare”, “although the latest Dyn incident in US has shown that it is surfacing as an emerging trend”.
The agencies added that in DDoS attacks, attackers usually scan for vulnerable Internet-connected devices commonly known as "botnet" and employ a list of techniques - such as password cracking - to gain access to them.
“Any Internet-connected device, from WiFi routers to printers to CCTVs, can inadvertently be part of a network of ‘bots’ that can be activated to attack other systems,” CSA and IMDA said, adding that there is no foolproof solution as digital systems are increasingly connected.
As such, telcos must ensure they have “resilient and robust” systems, and put in place measures to quickly detect and respond to such attacks, so as to avoid disruption of services to their subscribers, CSA and IMDA added.
They reiterated that they are working “closely” with StarHub to investigate the matter, and strengthen the telco’s infrastructure and processes, and said they have advised other telcos in Singapore to step up their defences in case there are similar disruptions to their systems.
Members of the public are also advised to adopt “good cyber hygiene practices” to secure their devices. SingCERT will publish an advisory on what businesses and individuals should do to ensure their Internet-connected devices are secure, CSA and IMDA said.
BUSINESSES SHOULD MAKE CYBER SECURITY A PRIORITY: YAACOB
Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim called on businesses to take action to address their specific cyber security needs, even as the Government steps up efforts to help them stay safe.
Speaking at an Asia Pacific cyber security summit on Wednesday, Dr Yaacob said the Government has been consistent in pursuing cyber security development, working with multiple stakeholders, including businesses and international partners. This includes launching the national cyber security strategy earlier this month, and developing a multi-tiered cyber security response plan.
A new Cybersecurity Act is also in the pipeline.
But Dr Yaacob emphasised that the Government cannot do it alone, and urged companies to make cyber security a priority.
"Cyber security should not be seen as a cost, but as an investment to manage risk. Under-investment in cyber security does not mean 'business-as-usual'. Weak cyber defences suffering from under-investment could be breached more easily, leading to disruption of business activities and significant losses," the minister said.
- CNA/dl
- wong chee tat :)
Posted 26 Oct 2016 21:20 Updated 26 Oct 2016 23:35
SINGAPORE: The Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on StarHub’s broadband network were the first of that nature on Singapore's telco infrastructure, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said on Wednesday evening (Oct 26).
This comes after the telco revealed in a media briefing on Wednesday that compromised devices such as webcams and routers owned by its customers led to the DDoS attacks.
In a joint statement, CSA and IMDA said attacks on Domain Name Services (DNS), as seen in StarHub’s case, are “generally rare”, “although the latest Dyn incident in US has shown that it is surfacing as an emerging trend”.
The agencies added that in DDoS attacks, attackers usually scan for vulnerable Internet-connected devices commonly known as "botnet" and employ a list of techniques - such as password cracking - to gain access to them.
“Any Internet-connected device, from WiFi routers to printers to CCTVs, can inadvertently be part of a network of ‘bots’ that can be activated to attack other systems,” CSA and IMDA said, adding that there is no foolproof solution as digital systems are increasingly connected.
As such, telcos must ensure they have “resilient and robust” systems, and put in place measures to quickly detect and respond to such attacks, so as to avoid disruption of services to their subscribers, CSA and IMDA added.
They reiterated that they are working “closely” with StarHub to investigate the matter, and strengthen the telco’s infrastructure and processes, and said they have advised other telcos in Singapore to step up their defences in case there are similar disruptions to their systems.
Members of the public are also advised to adopt “good cyber hygiene practices” to secure their devices. SingCERT will publish an advisory on what businesses and individuals should do to ensure their Internet-connected devices are secure, CSA and IMDA said.
BUSINESSES SHOULD MAKE CYBER SECURITY A PRIORITY: YAACOB
Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim called on businesses to take action to address their specific cyber security needs, even as the Government steps up efforts to help them stay safe.
Speaking at an Asia Pacific cyber security summit on Wednesday, Dr Yaacob said the Government has been consistent in pursuing cyber security development, working with multiple stakeholders, including businesses and international partners. This includes launching the national cyber security strategy earlier this month, and developing a multi-tiered cyber security response plan.
A new Cybersecurity Act is also in the pipeline.
But Dr Yaacob emphasised that the Government cannot do it alone, and urged companies to make cyber security a priority.
"Cyber security should not be seen as a cost, but as an investment to manage risk. Under-investment in cyber security does not mean 'business-as-usual'. Weak cyber defences suffering from under-investment could be breached more easily, leading to disruption of business activities and significant losses," the minister said.
- CNA/dl
- wong chee tat :)
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Starhub fibre broadband service outage sparks customers' ire
Starhub fibre broadband service outage sparks customers' ire
Posted 22 Oct 2016 23:30 Updated 23 Oct 2016 02:32
SINGAPORE: StarHub customers took to social media to air their frustrations following a fibre broadband service outage by the local telco on Saturday evening (Oct 22).
According to affected StarHub customers on social media, the outage started at around 10.00pm.
Responding to queries from Channel NewsAsia, a StarHub spokesperson said the telco is “working as fast as it can to fix an issue affecting customers' broadband service” and added that updates on the outage will be provided on its Facebook page.
"Our engineers are continuing to work to rectify the situation as soon as possible for customers. Updates to come."
In a Facebook post at 2.00am on Sunday, StarHub said they have since rectified a network equipment issue and are now closely monitoring the situation to ensure the service stabilises for their customers.
- CNA/xk
- wong chee tat :)
Posted 22 Oct 2016 23:30 Updated 23 Oct 2016 02:32
SINGAPORE: StarHub customers took to social media to air their frustrations following a fibre broadband service outage by the local telco on Saturday evening (Oct 22).
According to affected StarHub customers on social media, the outage started at around 10.00pm.
Responding to queries from Channel NewsAsia, a StarHub spokesperson said the telco is “working as fast as it can to fix an issue affecting customers' broadband service” and added that updates on the outage will be provided on its Facebook page.
"Our engineers are continuing to work to rectify the situation as soon as possible for customers. Updates to come."
In a Facebook post at 2.00am on Sunday, StarHub said they have since rectified a network equipment issue and are now closely monitoring the situation to ensure the service stabilises for their customers.
- CNA/xk
- wong chee tat :)
Friday, April 10, 2015
Dallas Buyers Club downloads: M1 passed customer details to law firm on court order
Dallas Buyers Club downloads: M1 passed customer details to law firm on court order
The Singapore telco says it was acting on an order from the High Court, which has also been received by StarHub
PUBLISHED: 10:01 AM, APRIL 8, 2015
SINGAPORE — Following a court order, M1 said it has disclosed customer information to a local law firm over alleged illegal movie downloads.
In response to queries from Channel NewsAsia, an M1 spokesperson said today (April 8) that it disclosed customers’ names, NRIC numbers and addresses to Dallas Buyers Club LLC following a High Court order in January.
The telco was responding to reports that customers who allegedly made illegal downloads of the movie Dallas Buyers Club had received letters asking for compensation. The letters reportedly claimed that M1 had received a court order to reveal subscribers’ information to a law firm representing Dallas Buyers Club LLC.
“M1 did not provide personal data of the affected customers to Dallas Buyers Club LLC when it first requested for the information,” a spokesperson for the telco told Channel NewsAsia today.
“Dallas Buyers Club LLC subsequently applied for a hearing at the High Court. After hearing the parties, the Assistant Registrar of the High Court granted an order compelling M1 to disclose the names, NRIC numbers and physical addresses of the affected customers.”
“M1 has accordingly complied with this order.”
STARHUB 'IN PROCESS OF COMPLYING'
Separately, StarHub on Wednesday told Channel NewsAsia that it had also received the High Court order.
“We have received a High Court order to provide details of some customers based on particular IP addresses, and are in the process of complying with this court order,” said Ms Caitlin Fua, Assistant Vice-President of corporate communications at StarHub.
StarHub added that it has engaged external litigation to act for the company, to "ensure that the plaintiff’s claim is properly assessed by the High Court".
On Monday, internet service providers in Australia were forced to hand over the personal details of almost 5,000 users who were alleged to have shared the movie on online file-sharing networks such as BitTorrent. Similar action is being sought by Dallas Buyers Club LLC in the United States.
The movie, made on a US$5 million (S$6.79 million) budget, won Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Makeup at the 86th Academy Awards in 2014. CHANNEL NEWSASIA
- wong chee tat ):
The Singapore telco says it was acting on an order from the High Court, which has also been received by StarHub
PUBLISHED: 10:01 AM, APRIL 8, 2015
SINGAPORE — Following a court order, M1 said it has disclosed customer information to a local law firm over alleged illegal movie downloads.
In response to queries from Channel NewsAsia, an M1 spokesperson said today (April 8) that it disclosed customers’ names, NRIC numbers and addresses to Dallas Buyers Club LLC following a High Court order in January.
The telco was responding to reports that customers who allegedly made illegal downloads of the movie Dallas Buyers Club had received letters asking for compensation. The letters reportedly claimed that M1 had received a court order to reveal subscribers’ information to a law firm representing Dallas Buyers Club LLC.
“M1 did not provide personal data of the affected customers to Dallas Buyers Club LLC when it first requested for the information,” a spokesperson for the telco told Channel NewsAsia today.
“Dallas Buyers Club LLC subsequently applied for a hearing at the High Court. After hearing the parties, the Assistant Registrar of the High Court granted an order compelling M1 to disclose the names, NRIC numbers and physical addresses of the affected customers.”
“M1 has accordingly complied with this order.”
STARHUB 'IN PROCESS OF COMPLYING'
Separately, StarHub on Wednesday told Channel NewsAsia that it had also received the High Court order.
“We have received a High Court order to provide details of some customers based on particular IP addresses, and are in the process of complying with this court order,” said Ms Caitlin Fua, Assistant Vice-President of corporate communications at StarHub.
StarHub added that it has engaged external litigation to act for the company, to "ensure that the plaintiff’s claim is properly assessed by the High Court".
On Monday, internet service providers in Australia were forced to hand over the personal details of almost 5,000 users who were alleged to have shared the movie on online file-sharing networks such as BitTorrent. Similar action is being sought by Dallas Buyers Club LLC in the United States.
The movie, made on a US$5 million (S$6.79 million) budget, won Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Makeup at the 86th Academy Awards in 2014. CHANNEL NEWSASIA
- wong chee tat ):
Illegal downloads: Singtel provides subscriber details after court order
Illegal downloads: Singtel provides subscriber details after court order
PUBLISHED: 12:57 PM, APRIL 8, 2015
UPDATED: 4:10 AM, APRIL 9, 2015
SINGAPORE — Singtel today (April 8) become the latest Internet service provider (ISP) here to comply with a court order to release the details of subscribers who allegedly downloaded the Oscar-winning film Dallas Buyers Club illegally.
A Singtel spokesperson said today it received the High Court’s order yesterday. It must now turn over requested information, including the names, IC numbers and addresses of subscribers linked to the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses identified, of some 150 subscribers to Dallas Buyers Club LLC, which owns the film’s rights, by the end of the month.
The telco, she said, had received a letter in October last year from Samuel Seow Law Corporation, which represents the United States-based film studio’s suit in Singapore, requesting identities of some of its subscribers.
It had refused to comply with the court order, and engaged a lawyer to contest the order.
Lawyer Edmund Eng from law firm Shook Lin and Bok had argued that Singtel had a legal obligation to keep its customers’ information confidential and requested the court to consider if evidence provided by Dallas Buyers Club LLC was sufficient to support their claims of infringement and compel disclosure of subscribers’ identities. However, the court allowed the order to proceed.
Dallas Buyers Club LLC has reportedly identified more than 500 Singapore IP addresses here through which the movie was said to have been downloaded illegally. Apart from Singtel, both M1 and Starhub, which had also engaged lawyers, were ordered by the court to turn over information about their subscribers.
Over the weekend, letters were reportedly sent to Internet users here asking for a written offer of damages and costs within three days of receiving the letter.
Lawyer Wendy Low from Rajah & Tann LLP said she has received informal queries seeking legal advice and confirmed the letters did not specify the amount of damages sought.
This is unlike the approach taken in the US, where legal action has been threatened against 1,000 Internet users. The users were told they were liable for damages of up to US$150,000 (S$202,500) in court unless settlement fees of up to US$7,000 were paid, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
In Australia, the Federal Court yesterday ordered six local ISPs to disclose the identities of some 4,700 people it alleges infringed the film’s copyrights.
Lawyers TODAY spoke to found it unusual that a settlement amount has not been specified in Singapore. Digital media lawyer Matt Pollins from Olswang Asia noted it is difficult to determine a precise level of damages here as there are fewer past cases of infringement claims against end users, in contrast to the US where benchmarks are more certain.
Under the Republic’s Copyright Act, statutory damages are subject to a ceiling of S$10,000 for each copyrighted work.
Mr Bryan Tan from Pinsent Masons said that the studio might be lending users a hand by allowing them to make offers reasonable to them. “This will also allow them to resolve more cases faster,” he said.
Technology and intellectual property lawyer Han Teng Wah, however, felt legal action is not the best way to deter copyright infringement.
“The people you round up are young and ignorant, they may not know what their legal rights are. The system should move to educate users on how illegal sharing will kill the creative industry,” said Mr Han.
- wong chee tat :)
PUBLISHED: 12:57 PM, APRIL 8, 2015
UPDATED: 4:10 AM, APRIL 9, 2015
SINGAPORE — Singtel today (April 8) become the latest Internet service provider (ISP) here to comply with a court order to release the details of subscribers who allegedly downloaded the Oscar-winning film Dallas Buyers Club illegally.
A Singtel spokesperson said today it received the High Court’s order yesterday. It must now turn over requested information, including the names, IC numbers and addresses of subscribers linked to the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses identified, of some 150 subscribers to Dallas Buyers Club LLC, which owns the film’s rights, by the end of the month.
The telco, she said, had received a letter in October last year from Samuel Seow Law Corporation, which represents the United States-based film studio’s suit in Singapore, requesting identities of some of its subscribers.
It had refused to comply with the court order, and engaged a lawyer to contest the order.
Lawyer Edmund Eng from law firm Shook Lin and Bok had argued that Singtel had a legal obligation to keep its customers’ information confidential and requested the court to consider if evidence provided by Dallas Buyers Club LLC was sufficient to support their claims of infringement and compel disclosure of subscribers’ identities. However, the court allowed the order to proceed.
Dallas Buyers Club LLC has reportedly identified more than 500 Singapore IP addresses here through which the movie was said to have been downloaded illegally. Apart from Singtel, both M1 and Starhub, which had also engaged lawyers, were ordered by the court to turn over information about their subscribers.
Over the weekend, letters were reportedly sent to Internet users here asking for a written offer of damages and costs within three days of receiving the letter.
Lawyer Wendy Low from Rajah & Tann LLP said she has received informal queries seeking legal advice and confirmed the letters did not specify the amount of damages sought.
This is unlike the approach taken in the US, where legal action has been threatened against 1,000 Internet users. The users were told they were liable for damages of up to US$150,000 (S$202,500) in court unless settlement fees of up to US$7,000 were paid, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
In Australia, the Federal Court yesterday ordered six local ISPs to disclose the identities of some 4,700 people it alleges infringed the film’s copyrights.
Lawyers TODAY spoke to found it unusual that a settlement amount has not been specified in Singapore. Digital media lawyer Matt Pollins from Olswang Asia noted it is difficult to determine a precise level of damages here as there are fewer past cases of infringement claims against end users, in contrast to the US where benchmarks are more certain.
Under the Republic’s Copyright Act, statutory damages are subject to a ceiling of S$10,000 for each copyrighted work.
Mr Bryan Tan from Pinsent Masons said that the studio might be lending users a hand by allowing them to make offers reasonable to them. “This will also allow them to resolve more cases faster,” he said.
Technology and intellectual property lawyer Han Teng Wah, however, felt legal action is not the best way to deter copyright infringement.
“The people you round up are young and ignorant, they may not know what their legal rights are. The system should move to educate users on how illegal sharing will kill the creative industry,” said Mr Han.
- wong chee tat :)
Mixed response from local film-makers on illegal download crackdown
Mixed response from local film-makers on illegal download crackdown
Some say movie piracy penalties must have ‘bite’ to be effective while others say in order to curb piracy education is better than punishment
BY SERENE LIM
PUBLISHED: 11:33 AM, APRIL 9, 2015
UPDATED: 11:34 AM, APRIL 9, 2015
SINGAPORE — Responses from the film community here to the news that the producers of the Oscar-winning movie Dallas Buyers Club are seeking compensation for allegedly illegal downloads have been mixed.
Some felt the move made a strong statement against piracy, while others felt it would do little to stamp out the problem as new ways will be found to circumvent any crackdown.
The studio, Dallas Buyers Club LLC, has identified more than 500 Internet Protocol addresses in Singapore and has hired Samuel Seow Law Corporation to serve letters to them, demanding compensation. Internet service providers M1, StarHub and Singtel have been ordered by the High Court to turn over the identities of their subscribers who allegedly downloaded the film.
Mr Thomas Chia, director of independent film distributing company Lighthouse Pictures, said the move was a welcome one. “Piracy to me is like mugging of film-makers and everyone who works on a film in broad daylight,” he said. “Look at how piracy has affected the film industry — mum and pop video stores have gone under. What disturbs me is how so many people think it’s their birthright to download, and that there’s nothing wrong at all (with illegal downloading).”
However, film-maker Royston Tan, best known for box office successes 881 and 12 Lotus, said he was not in favour of legal action, because “it’s like severing a relationship with the audience”.
“The more you suppress it, the more people will find ways to get around this. They can change their IP addresses or use a VPN (Virtual Private Number),” said Mr Tan, adding that education was better than punishment.
Mr Ken Kwek, the director of Unlucky Plaza, which is set for release later this month, felt such a crackdown would probably result in people finding new means to get free movies. “I guard my work from script to screen, but once the film’s been released, especially on online platforms and digital formats, I know somebody’s going to pirate it,” he said. “Maybe I’m pessimistic, but I don’t think there’s anything you can really do to prevent piracy. It’s too big a thing.”
Mr Chia was also sceptical if legal action would be the silver bullet to end piracy. “It would depend on severity of the penalty. It has to bite for it to be effective,” he added. SERENE LIM
- wong chee tat :)
Some say movie piracy penalties must have ‘bite’ to be effective while others say in order to curb piracy education is better than punishment
BY SERENE LIM
PUBLISHED: 11:33 AM, APRIL 9, 2015
UPDATED: 11:34 AM, APRIL 9, 2015
SINGAPORE — Responses from the film community here to the news that the producers of the Oscar-winning movie Dallas Buyers Club are seeking compensation for allegedly illegal downloads have been mixed.
Some felt the move made a strong statement against piracy, while others felt it would do little to stamp out the problem as new ways will be found to circumvent any crackdown.
The studio, Dallas Buyers Club LLC, has identified more than 500 Internet Protocol addresses in Singapore and has hired Samuel Seow Law Corporation to serve letters to them, demanding compensation. Internet service providers M1, StarHub and Singtel have been ordered by the High Court to turn over the identities of their subscribers who allegedly downloaded the film.
Mr Thomas Chia, director of independent film distributing company Lighthouse Pictures, said the move was a welcome one. “Piracy to me is like mugging of film-makers and everyone who works on a film in broad daylight,” he said. “Look at how piracy has affected the film industry — mum and pop video stores have gone under. What disturbs me is how so many people think it’s their birthright to download, and that there’s nothing wrong at all (with illegal downloading).”
However, film-maker Royston Tan, best known for box office successes 881 and 12 Lotus, said he was not in favour of legal action, because “it’s like severing a relationship with the audience”.
“The more you suppress it, the more people will find ways to get around this. They can change their IP addresses or use a VPN (Virtual Private Number),” said Mr Tan, adding that education was better than punishment.
Mr Ken Kwek, the director of Unlucky Plaza, which is set for release later this month, felt such a crackdown would probably result in people finding new means to get free movies. “I guard my work from script to screen, but once the film’s been released, especially on online platforms and digital formats, I know somebody’s going to pirate it,” he said. “Maybe I’m pessimistic, but I don’t think there’s anything you can really do to prevent piracy. It’s too big a thing.”
Mr Chia was also sceptical if legal action would be the silver bullet to end piracy. “It would depend on severity of the penalty. It has to bite for it to be effective,” he added. SERENE LIM
- wong chee tat :)
Friday, October 3, 2014
Disrupted StarHub fibre broadband services restored
Disrupted StarHub fibre broadband services restored
Customers had started leaving complaints on the telco's Facebook page from around 6pm onwards. The telco said services were "fully restored" close to midnight.
SINGAPORE: StarHub's fibre broadband and digital voice services were disrupted on Thursday (Oct 2), with services being "fully restored" as of 11.50pm.
"We are monitoring the situation closely to ensure service stability for affected customers," a spokesperson for the telco told Channel NewsAsia.
At about 9pm, StarHub had said it was aware that "some of our fibre broadband and Digital Voice (fibre) customers are facing difficulties in using the services at the moment. We are currently working to rectify this as quickly as we can". About 90 minutes later, the telco said that the affected fibre services are "now progressively being restored".
StarHub customers took to the telco's Facebook page to voice their concerns, from about 6pm onwards. Complaints came from fibre broadband customers in Yishun, Tampines, Kovan and Sembawang, who said they experienced "technical errors" when trying to connect to the Internet.
One StarHub customer, who said she had been in touch with the telco, posted on Facebook that StarHub's customer service officer told her it was an "island-wide issue".
Channel NewsAsia understands that residents in Pasir Ris and Sengkang are also affected.
Mr Alan Ang, who lives in Sengkang, told Channel NewsAsia that he started experiencing problems with his fibre broadband connection around 7pm this evening.
- CNA/dl
- wong chee tat ):
Customers had started leaving complaints on the telco's Facebook page from around 6pm onwards. The telco said services were "fully restored" close to midnight.
SINGAPORE: StarHub's fibre broadband and digital voice services were disrupted on Thursday (Oct 2), with services being "fully restored" as of 11.50pm.
"We are monitoring the situation closely to ensure service stability for affected customers," a spokesperson for the telco told Channel NewsAsia.
At about 9pm, StarHub had said it was aware that "some of our fibre broadband and Digital Voice (fibre) customers are facing difficulties in using the services at the moment. We are currently working to rectify this as quickly as we can". About 90 minutes later, the telco said that the affected fibre services are "now progressively being restored".
StarHub customers took to the telco's Facebook page to voice their concerns, from about 6pm onwards. Complaints came from fibre broadband customers in Yishun, Tampines, Kovan and Sembawang, who said they experienced "technical errors" when trying to connect to the Internet.
One StarHub customer, who said she had been in touch with the telco, posted on Facebook that StarHub's customer service officer told her it was an "island-wide issue".
Channel NewsAsia understands that residents in Pasir Ris and Sengkang are also affected.
Mr Alan Ang, who lives in Sengkang, told Channel NewsAsia that he started experiencing problems with his fibre broadband connection around 7pm this evening.
- CNA/dl
- wong chee tat ):
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
StarHub confirms 3G voice network disruption
StarHub confirms 3G voice network disruption
StarHub says its 3G outgoing voice call service was temporarily affected in western and central areas but has been fully restored as of 5pm.
SINGAPORE: StarHub's 3G outgoing voice call service was temporarily affected in certain western and central areas of Singapore earlier on Tuesday (June 10), but the telco says service was fully restored at 5pm.
"We are monitoring the situation closely to ensure service stability for our customers. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and thank affected customers for their patience and understanding.”
StarHub earlier said the "intermittent 3G outgoing voice call issue" was being progressively restored, after complaints from customers on its Facebook page who said they have been unable to make calls since this morning (June 10). The telco had advised affected customers to switch to 2G networks to make outgoing calls.
Facebook user Abhijeet Kulkarni said on Starhub's Facebook page: "(I've been) unable to make any outgoing calls on my phone since 9.30am today." Another customer, Frasir Chan, also wrote on the page: "We at Bendemeer area are not able to make calls."
A viewer, Gary, informed Channel NewsAsia at noon that his network had been down for around three hours and he was unable to call out using his mobile phone.
- CNA/cy/ek
- wong chee tat :)
StarHub says its 3G outgoing voice call service was temporarily affected in western and central areas but has been fully restored as of 5pm.
SINGAPORE: StarHub's 3G outgoing voice call service was temporarily affected in certain western and central areas of Singapore earlier on Tuesday (June 10), but the telco says service was fully restored at 5pm.
"We are monitoring the situation closely to ensure service stability for our customers. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and thank affected customers for their patience and understanding.”
StarHub earlier said the "intermittent 3G outgoing voice call issue" was being progressively restored, after complaints from customers on its Facebook page who said they have been unable to make calls since this morning (June 10). The telco had advised affected customers to switch to 2G networks to make outgoing calls.
Facebook user Abhijeet Kulkarni said on Starhub's Facebook page: "(I've been) unable to make any outgoing calls on my phone since 9.30am today." Another customer, Frasir Chan, also wrote on the page: "We at Bendemeer area are not able to make calls."
A viewer, Gary, informed Channel NewsAsia at noon that his network had been down for around three hours and he was unable to call out using his mobile phone.
- CNA/cy/ek
- wong chee tat :)
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Telcos not charging existing customers with contracts for 4G services
Telcos not charging existing customers with contracts for 4G services
The three telcos - StarHub, M1 and SingTel - have decided not to charge for 4G services for existing customers with minimum term contracts.
SINGAPORE: The three telcos - StarHub, M1 and SingTel - have decided not to charge for 4G services for existing customers with minimum term contracts.
This is after industry regulator Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore conducted an investigation into StarHub's recent announcement that it will start charging for 4G value-added services from 1 June.
IDA said in a statement on Wednesday that telcos should not change prices mid-way that affect customers with minimum term contracts if they were not clear to customers upfront what those price changes might be.
Under the Telecoms Competition Code, telcos must communicate key terms and conditions to customers prior to service sign-up.
StarHub had earlier said that it will charge customers on its SmartSurf plans $2.14 a month for the use of 4G services, after a promotion ends on 31 May.
According to IDA, currently 4G services do not support voice and SMS services, which are delivered over the 3G network.
The three telcos have offered 4G services as part of their mobile data bundle promotion and positioned them as value-added services in their promotional materials and service terms and conditions.
Speaking on Channel NewsAsia's Talking Point programme on Wednesday, IDA's Deputy Chief Executive Leong Keng Thai said the regulator has clarified the matter with the telcos and they have decided not to charge for 4G services for existing customers with term contracts until they expire.
He said: "Based on some of the feedback from consumers, we've actually reviewed certain contracts, including various promotional materials of all the three telcos.
"We found that generally and to various degrees, the terms and all the necessary notifications are captured in writing in one form or another.
"But I think, more importantly, the point is that whether this has been clearly communicated to consumers at the point of sale.
"I think at the point of sale, it is very critical, and our finding is there is certainly room for improvement in this area.
"We will be working on improving and tightening those procedures at the point of sale to ensure consumers are fully aware and we will make it a regulatory requirement."
In response, StarHub said in a statement that it values the feedback of its customers and that it has decided to further the free promotion to existing customers of its SmartSurf Lite/Value/Premium/Elite price plans till the end of their contract.
Meanwhile, a SingTel spokesman said: "Even before IDA's latest announcement was made, SingTel's policy with regard to changes to price plans or promotions is that these changes would only apply if customers choose to renew their contract or sign up a new contract.
"We will always provide customers with ample advance notice if we introduce changes or end promotions, so that they have sufficient time to make an informed decision."
- CNA/ir
- wong chee tat :)
The three telcos - StarHub, M1 and SingTel - have decided not to charge for 4G services for existing customers with minimum term contracts.
SINGAPORE: The three telcos - StarHub, M1 and SingTel - have decided not to charge for 4G services for existing customers with minimum term contracts.
This is after industry regulator Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore conducted an investigation into StarHub's recent announcement that it will start charging for 4G value-added services from 1 June.
IDA said in a statement on Wednesday that telcos should not change prices mid-way that affect customers with minimum term contracts if they were not clear to customers upfront what those price changes might be.
Under the Telecoms Competition Code, telcos must communicate key terms and conditions to customers prior to service sign-up.
StarHub had earlier said that it will charge customers on its SmartSurf plans $2.14 a month for the use of 4G services, after a promotion ends on 31 May.
According to IDA, currently 4G services do not support voice and SMS services, which are delivered over the 3G network.
The three telcos have offered 4G services as part of their mobile data bundle promotion and positioned them as value-added services in their promotional materials and service terms and conditions.
Speaking on Channel NewsAsia's Talking Point programme on Wednesday, IDA's Deputy Chief Executive Leong Keng Thai said the regulator has clarified the matter with the telcos and they have decided not to charge for 4G services for existing customers with term contracts until they expire.
He said: "Based on some of the feedback from consumers, we've actually reviewed certain contracts, including various promotional materials of all the three telcos.
"We found that generally and to various degrees, the terms and all the necessary notifications are captured in writing in one form or another.
"But I think, more importantly, the point is that whether this has been clearly communicated to consumers at the point of sale.
"I think at the point of sale, it is very critical, and our finding is there is certainly room for improvement in this area.
"We will be working on improving and tightening those procedures at the point of sale to ensure consumers are fully aware and we will make it a regulatory requirement."
In response, StarHub said in a statement that it values the feedback of its customers and that it has decided to further the free promotion to existing customers of its SmartSurf Lite/Value/Premium/Elite price plans till the end of their contract.
Meanwhile, a SingTel spokesman said: "Even before IDA's latest announcement was made, SingTel's policy with regard to changes to price plans or promotions is that these changes would only apply if customers choose to renew their contract or sign up a new contract.
"We will always provide customers with ample advance notice if we introduce changes or end promotions, so that they have sufficient time to make an informed decision."
- CNA/ir
- wong chee tat :)
Friday, December 6, 2013
M1 to introduce one-minute minimum charge for calls
M1 to introduce one-minute minimum charge for calls
POSTED: 06 Dec 2013 20:34
Telco M1 will be adopting a one-minute minimum charge for outgoing local voice and video calls on per-second billing plans from 1 January 2014.
SINGAPORE: Telco M1 will be adopting a one-minute minimum charge for outgoing local voice and video calls on per-second billing plans from 1 January 2014.
"From 1 January 2014, outgoing local voice and video call usage on Per Second Billing plans will have a minimum one-minute charge and billed per second thereafter," said M1 on its website.
This move follows competitor StarHub's move in April, with voice and video outgoing local calls charged based on an "initial block of one minute and thereafter at per second rate, with effect from 1 May 2013".
For SingTel, "local talk time is charged based on an initial block of one minute and subsequent blocks of six seconds rounded to the nearest cent on a per call basis".
M1 will also be doubling its excess data charges to S$10.70 per GB, with the maximum excess charge capped at S$188.32 from 1 January. It had previously charged S$5.35 per GB, and capped that maximum excess charge at S$94.16.
These new charges are in line with SingTel, which had earlier doubled its mobile charges for 4G customers who exceed their monthly data bundle. SingTel said that its earlier rate was a promotion which ended on Sept 15.
"The rate of S$5.35/GB for 4G local excess data usage data that is used beyond the monthly data bundle was offered as a special promotion with the launch of our 4G service in June 2012," said a SingTel spokesman on 14 August.
StarHub's promotional data excess charges will also expire on 31 December, with the rates returning to their usual price of S$8.56 per GB. The maximum data bill will now be capped at S$85.60. StarHub's promotional rate was S$6.42 per GB of excess data, with the maximum data bill capped at S$64.20.
"The promotional data excess charge details were communicated to customers ever since we launched the plans in September 2012," said a StarHub spokesman.
-TODAY/xq
- wong chee tat :)
POSTED: 06 Dec 2013 20:34
Telco M1 will be adopting a one-minute minimum charge for outgoing local voice and video calls on per-second billing plans from 1 January 2014.
SINGAPORE: Telco M1 will be adopting a one-minute minimum charge for outgoing local voice and video calls on per-second billing plans from 1 January 2014.
"From 1 January 2014, outgoing local voice and video call usage on Per Second Billing plans will have a minimum one-minute charge and billed per second thereafter," said M1 on its website.
This move follows competitor StarHub's move in April, with voice and video outgoing local calls charged based on an "initial block of one minute and thereafter at per second rate, with effect from 1 May 2013".
For SingTel, "local talk time is charged based on an initial block of one minute and subsequent blocks of six seconds rounded to the nearest cent on a per call basis".
M1 will also be doubling its excess data charges to S$10.70 per GB, with the maximum excess charge capped at S$188.32 from 1 January. It had previously charged S$5.35 per GB, and capped that maximum excess charge at S$94.16.
These new charges are in line with SingTel, which had earlier doubled its mobile charges for 4G customers who exceed their monthly data bundle. SingTel said that its earlier rate was a promotion which ended on Sept 15.
"The rate of S$5.35/GB for 4G local excess data usage data that is used beyond the monthly data bundle was offered as a special promotion with the launch of our 4G service in June 2012," said a SingTel spokesman on 14 August.
StarHub's promotional data excess charges will also expire on 31 December, with the rates returning to their usual price of S$8.56 per GB. The maximum data bill will now be capped at S$85.60. StarHub's promotional rate was S$6.42 per GB of excess data, with the maximum data bill capped at S$64.20.
"The promotional data excess charge details were communicated to customers ever since we launched the plans in September 2012," said a StarHub spokesman.
-TODAY/xq
- wong chee tat :)
Saturday, October 26, 2013
StarHub to compensate customers affected by SingTel facility fire
StarHub to compensate customers affected by SingTel facility fire
By Kimberly Spykerman
POSTED: 25 Oct 2013 21:16
StarHub said it will compensate customers whose services were affected by the fire at SingTel's Bukit Panjang Exchange earlier this month.
SINGAPORE: StarHub said it will compensate customers whose services were affected by the fire at SingTel's Bukit Panjang Exchange earlier this month.
This comes ahead of its compensation discussion with SingTel.
StarHub leases fibre capacity from SingTel, and some of its customers had their services disrupted when the fire broke out.
As compensation, affected StarHub TV customers will get free viewing of more than 170 channels for a month.
Digital Voice customers will get their subscription fee waived for a month, and broadband customers will receive a S$10 supermarket voucher.
Letters will be sent to affected customers with more details.
StarHub said the compensation is a gesture of appreciation to affected customers who had shown patience and understanding during the disruption.
It also noted that during the service disruption, StarHub's topmost priority was to restore services for affected customers as quickly as possible, while ensuring that they were updated on the restoration progress through announcements on social media channels and the hotline.
To further assist fibre broadband customers whose services were affected for a longer period of time, StarHub provided temporary cable broadband access for free while they waited for their fibre connection to be rectified.
StarHub's cable TV, cable broadband and Digital Voice services were restored for customers on October 10, while all of its affected fibre broadband connections were back to normal by October 18.
- CNA/nd
- wong chee tat :)
By Kimberly Spykerman
POSTED: 25 Oct 2013 21:16
StarHub said it will compensate customers whose services were affected by the fire at SingTel's Bukit Panjang Exchange earlier this month.
SINGAPORE: StarHub said it will compensate customers whose services were affected by the fire at SingTel's Bukit Panjang Exchange earlier this month.
This comes ahead of its compensation discussion with SingTel.
StarHub leases fibre capacity from SingTel, and some of its customers had their services disrupted when the fire broke out.
As compensation, affected StarHub TV customers will get free viewing of more than 170 channels for a month.
Digital Voice customers will get their subscription fee waived for a month, and broadband customers will receive a S$10 supermarket voucher.
Letters will be sent to affected customers with more details.
StarHub said the compensation is a gesture of appreciation to affected customers who had shown patience and understanding during the disruption.
It also noted that during the service disruption, StarHub's topmost priority was to restore services for affected customers as quickly as possible, while ensuring that they were updated on the restoration progress through announcements on social media channels and the hotline.
To further assist fibre broadband customers whose services were affected for a longer period of time, StarHub provided temporary cable broadband access for free while they waited for their fibre connection to be rectified.
StarHub's cable TV, cable broadband and Digital Voice services were restored for customers on October 10, while all of its affected fibre broadband connections were back to normal by October 18.
- CNA/nd
- wong chee tat :)
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Fibre connections damaged in Bukit Panjang Exchange fire fully restored
Fibre connections damaged in Bukit Panjang Exchange fire fully restored
POSTED: 18 Oct 2013 13:17
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore said restoration work on the fibre connections damaged in the Bukit Panjang Exchange fire on October 9 has been completed.
SINGAPORE: The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) said restoration work on the fibre connections damaged in the Bukit Panjang Exchange fire on October 9 has been completed.
It is now assessing if service providers have taken all necessary action to restore the affected services as quickly as possible.
IDA is also assessing if current processes are effective in bringing about speedy service recovery.
In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, IDA said a separate review on the systemic resiliency of the fixed infocomm infrastructure is also underway.
"The public will be informed about the results of the investigations once they are completed," IDA said in the statement.
OpenNet and StarHub also issued their own statements on the completion of restoration work.
In its statement, OpenNet said if any new issues should arise, it will deal with them on "an urgent case-to-case basis".
StarHub, in its statement, said it will "continue to monitor the situation closely with OpenNet and SingTel to ensure their service to us remains stable."
As for M1, its spokesman said a small number of their fibre customers are still facing issues.
"We are making house calls to all these customers and working with OpenNet to help restore their connections," said the spokesman.
- CNA/fa
- wong chee tat :)
POSTED: 18 Oct 2013 13:17
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore said restoration work on the fibre connections damaged in the Bukit Panjang Exchange fire on October 9 has been completed.
SINGAPORE: The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) said restoration work on the fibre connections damaged in the Bukit Panjang Exchange fire on October 9 has been completed.
It is now assessing if service providers have taken all necessary action to restore the affected services as quickly as possible.
IDA is also assessing if current processes are effective in bringing about speedy service recovery.
In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, IDA said a separate review on the systemic resiliency of the fixed infocomm infrastructure is also underway.
"The public will be informed about the results of the investigations once they are completed," IDA said in the statement.
OpenNet and StarHub also issued their own statements on the completion of restoration work.
In its statement, OpenNet said if any new issues should arise, it will deal with them on "an urgent case-to-case basis".
StarHub, in its statement, said it will "continue to monitor the situation closely with OpenNet and SingTel to ensure their service to us remains stable."
As for M1, its spokesman said a small number of their fibre customers are still facing issues.
"We are making house calls to all these customers and working with OpenNet to help restore their connections," said the spokesman.
- CNA/fa
- wong chee tat :)
Thursday, October 17, 2013
SingTel fire: 60,000 customers to be compensated
SingTel fire: 60,000 customers to be compensated
Derrick Ho
The Straits Times
Thursday, Oct 17, 2013
Singtel said it would compensate as many as 60,000 home customers whose broadband Internet was crippled for days due to a fire at one of its exchange facilities. But some affected subscribers were not appeased.
Affected customers will get a speed boost for the next three months, the telco told The Straits Times on Monday. For instance, those on a 200Mbps plan will get bumped up to 300Mbps for free.
The 44,000 customers who had their mioTV service disrupted will be given a month's worth of free viewing of all channels.
Those whose fixed voice lines went down will get one month's worth of free local calls.
"We are very sorry about this... while we cannot reverse the events that have taken place in the last few days, we'd really like to thank our customers for their patience and their understanding," said Mr Yuen Kuan Moon, chief executive of SingTel's consumer division here.
Many affected subscribers The Straits Times spoke to did not seem assuaged by the telco's offer. Civil servant Sallihin Othman, whose broadband connection was down for 36 hours, said he had been expecting "a much more significant compensation".
The 28-year-old resorted to using his mobile data connection during the outage. "I think customers would have been happier to get broadband or mobile data bills waived, at least for that period of time," he said.
Writing on The Straits Times' Facebook page, Mr Wee Kheng Leong said the compensation had "no loss on SingTel's side and little real gains on the user's side".
Meanwhile, StarHub, whose fibre broadband, cable TV and voice customers were affected, said it was working towards full restoration of services. Some 500 fibre broadband customers still faced issues, it said on Monday.
M1 revealed that around 300 of its fibre broadband customers were still affected. Both telcos added that they were working on details of compensation.
In a statement on Monday, the Infocomm Development Authority said it has urged all operators to cooperate and step up efforts "urgently" to restore all remaining connections, adding that it was monitoring the situation "closely".
Last Wednesday's fire at SingTel's Bukit Panjang Internet Exchange building also affected banks, Singapore Pools, ATMs, AXS machines and even retrieval of polyclinic patient records - all of which have been restored.
As for compensation to business customers, SingTel's Mr Yuen said it will be reaching out to them separately "to better appreciate how they were affected and to address their needs".
derrickh@sph.com.sg
Additional reporting by Rachel Au-Yong
- wong chee tat :)
Derrick Ho
The Straits Times
Thursday, Oct 17, 2013
Singtel said it would compensate as many as 60,000 home customers whose broadband Internet was crippled for days due to a fire at one of its exchange facilities. But some affected subscribers were not appeased.
Affected customers will get a speed boost for the next three months, the telco told The Straits Times on Monday. For instance, those on a 200Mbps plan will get bumped up to 300Mbps for free.
The 44,000 customers who had their mioTV service disrupted will be given a month's worth of free viewing of all channels.
Those whose fixed voice lines went down will get one month's worth of free local calls.
"We are very sorry about this... while we cannot reverse the events that have taken place in the last few days, we'd really like to thank our customers for their patience and their understanding," said Mr Yuen Kuan Moon, chief executive of SingTel's consumer division here.
Many affected subscribers The Straits Times spoke to did not seem assuaged by the telco's offer. Civil servant Sallihin Othman, whose broadband connection was down for 36 hours, said he had been expecting "a much more significant compensation".
The 28-year-old resorted to using his mobile data connection during the outage. "I think customers would have been happier to get broadband or mobile data bills waived, at least for that period of time," he said.
Writing on The Straits Times' Facebook page, Mr Wee Kheng Leong said the compensation had "no loss on SingTel's side and little real gains on the user's side".
Meanwhile, StarHub, whose fibre broadband, cable TV and voice customers were affected, said it was working towards full restoration of services. Some 500 fibre broadband customers still faced issues, it said on Monday.
M1 revealed that around 300 of its fibre broadband customers were still affected. Both telcos added that they were working on details of compensation.
In a statement on Monday, the Infocomm Development Authority said it has urged all operators to cooperate and step up efforts "urgently" to restore all remaining connections, adding that it was monitoring the situation "closely".
Last Wednesday's fire at SingTel's Bukit Panjang Internet Exchange building also affected banks, Singapore Pools, ATMs, AXS machines and even retrieval of polyclinic patient records - all of which have been restored.
As for compensation to business customers, SingTel's Mr Yuen said it will be reaching out to them separately "to better appreciate how they were affected and to address their needs".
derrickh@sph.com.sg
Additional reporting by Rachel Au-Yong
- wong chee tat :)
IDA urges telcos to focus on restoring all services
IDA urges telcos to focus on restoring all services
By Monica Kotwani
POSTED: 16 Oct 2013 21:44
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) has urged local telcos to work together to restore all services affected by SingTel's Bukit Panjang Exchange fire on October 9.
SINGAPORE: The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) has urged local telcos to work together to restore all services affected by SingTel's Bukit Panjang Exchange fire on October 9.
In a statement on Wednesday evening, IDA said it had written to SingTel, StarHub and M1 to focus their efforts on identifying problems their end users may still be experiencing.
It said the telcos should resolve them immediately, rather than "issuing statements to assign blame, as this is neither helpful nor constructive".
The regulatory authority added it has started its own investigations to determine the cause and circumstances of the fire, which damaged fibre cable lines and caused disruptions to services islandwide.
IDA said the investigations would identify measures that need to be taken to prevent such incidents from recurring.
It would also assess whether service providers have taken "all necessary action to restore the affected services as quickly as possible", and if current processes are effective in bringing about speedy service recovery.
Also on Wednesday, SingTel announced it has formed its own Board Committee of Inquiry to look into the Bukit Panjang Exchange fire.
It will consist of three independent SingTel board members, and use "leading global experts to draw on international best practices".
Meanwhile, M1 and StarHub provided an update on the number of their affected fibre broadband subscribers.
M1 said the number of affected customers is down to some 100, from 200 on Tuesday.
StarHub said "a small number" of its subscribers in Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang and Woodlands are still unable to access the Internet.
Both are working with OpenNet to restore services.
- CNA/gn
- wong chee tat :)
By Monica Kotwani
POSTED: 16 Oct 2013 21:44
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) has urged local telcos to work together to restore all services affected by SingTel's Bukit Panjang Exchange fire on October 9.
SINGAPORE: The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) has urged local telcos to work together to restore all services affected by SingTel's Bukit Panjang Exchange fire on October 9.
In a statement on Wednesday evening, IDA said it had written to SingTel, StarHub and M1 to focus their efforts on identifying problems their end users may still be experiencing.
It said the telcos should resolve them immediately, rather than "issuing statements to assign blame, as this is neither helpful nor constructive".
The regulatory authority added it has started its own investigations to determine the cause and circumstances of the fire, which damaged fibre cable lines and caused disruptions to services islandwide.
IDA said the investigations would identify measures that need to be taken to prevent such incidents from recurring.
It would also assess whether service providers have taken "all necessary action to restore the affected services as quickly as possible", and if current processes are effective in bringing about speedy service recovery.
Also on Wednesday, SingTel announced it has formed its own Board Committee of Inquiry to look into the Bukit Panjang Exchange fire.
It will consist of three independent SingTel board members, and use "leading global experts to draw on international best practices".
Meanwhile, M1 and StarHub provided an update on the number of their affected fibre broadband subscribers.
M1 said the number of affected customers is down to some 100, from 200 on Tuesday.
StarHub said "a small number" of its subscribers in Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang and Woodlands are still unable to access the Internet.
Both are working with OpenNet to restore services.
- CNA/gn
- wong chee tat :)
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