Singapore to cut off internet access for government workers
http://www.usnews.com/news/technology/articles/2016-06-08/singapore-to-cut-off-internet-access-for-government-workers
Government employees in Singapore will soon lose their
internet access at work to make official information systems
more secure, authorities said Wednesday. The government's
Infocomm Development Authority said it has begun disconnecting
internet access from the work stations of some government
employees, and will expand the removal to all public workers
by next June. It said the employees' work will remain the
same, while the government information network will become
more secure. Singapore's government is believed to have about
120,000 employees. While authorities did not give further
details, the Straits Times newspaper said the move will affect
100,000 computers. The newspaper said government employees
who need the internet for work will be issued separate laptops
with web access. If they don't, they can use the internet on
personal tablets or cellphones without access to government
networks, it said.
- - -
More stupidity from the land of caning (flogging) -- and chewing gum
bans. They're demonstrating how they completely misunderstand the
nature of computer security. I wonder if they're going to ban USB
ports too, so employees can't insert their flash drives. Hmm? And what
of external email, possibly loaded with "amusing" attachments? No way
to send or receive email to or from the government? My guess is that
this is all about simply cutting off Web access as another
authoritarian step by the dictatorial government. I suspect they'll
learn their mistake rather quickly. Maybe they'll eventually flog the
officials who made this idiotic decision? That would be interesting.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
I have consulted to Google, but I am not currently
doing so -- my opinions expressed here are mine alone.
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