SENAYANPOST- The newly established Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) in Singapore has named Brigadier-General Lee Yi-Jin as its first director. The SAF established the DIS, which will join the Army, Navy, and Air Force as the fourth service, to address new threats in the digital sphere.
At the Safti Military Institute on Friday night, President Halimah Yacob gave BG Lee a letter of appointment as the head of the DIS.
The establishment of the DIS is one that is "timely and necessary," according to President Halimah, who stated this during her speech at the inauguration ceremony.
"We have seen many attacks on other countries in the last ten years, not through conventional armed conflicts, but through the digital realm," she said. "These cyberattacks have a real impact and have the potential to disrupt vital services, steal data, and even local elections."
Such "hybrid warfare" can be a precursor to or a component of a planned campaign by state and non-state actors against a target nation, she continued.
"The fourth service will give us the capabilities to defend ourselves against attacks in the digital domain, just as the SAF defends Singapore in the air, land, and sea."
According to Mindef, the DIS is made up of a service headquarters, a few joint and cyber staff departments, four commands, and a digital ops-tech center.
The DIS will "leverage national servicemen to develop its digital workforce," according to Mindef.
Speaking in parliament in August, Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen asserting that DIS will compete with other major organizations for talent in order to be "on par with the army, navy, and air force".
