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SINGAPORE: The Government will implement secure Internet browsing for eligible public officials beginning November 2, allowing them to safely access the Web on their work laptops.
About 108,000 or more than 80 percent of public officials will move to the new platform, the Office of Digital Government and Smart Nation (SNDGO) and the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) said on Thursday (October 15).
The upgrade will help improve the user experience and productivity of public officials while promoting a safe digital workplace, the agencies said in a press release.
“This is part of our ongoing effort to advance the public sector digital transformation process,” they added.
However, officers handling classified information will continue to use a separate device to access the Internet. This is to safeguard any sensitive data, the agencies said.
EVOLUTION OF THE NEEDS OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS
Public officials on the secure Internet browsing platform will be able to browse and download content from the Web; open links directly from emails and Outlook documents; log in and read social media feeds and post text only; and upload files to approved websites such as gov.sg websites.
File upload is allowed only for approved websites to mitigate the risk of “data exfiltration by attackers” who use the upload feature to send data to unauthorized websites, the agencies said.
The platform is enabled by remote browsing technology, which works by loading web content into a dedicated virtual container and displaying only secure content to the user, SNDGO and GovTech explained.
However, remote browsing technology is not compatible with web-based video conferencing as it does not interact with other hardware components of the laptop, such as the microphone and camera, they added.
Internet Browsing Separation (ISS) was first launched in 2016 and “fully implemented” in public service in 2017.
“Over the years, ISS has been instrumental in keeping government data and IT systems safe,” the agencies said.
However, when ISS was first implemented, “there were no suitable mature products or solutions” that would allow public officials to access the Internet safely, they added.
“Advances in remote browsing technology in recent years have helped enable the implementation” of safe Internet browsing, enabling a more secure system to safeguard government data, SNDGO and GovTech said.
“Protecting government data remains a key priority of the Government of Singapore as we continue to enhance these digital solutions to meet the changing needs of public officials and the demands of the workplace.”
