SINGAPORE, Feb 24 — The police have closed a matter related to concerns expressed by Workers’ Party chair Sylvia Lim that her mobile phone could have been hacked, after Lim decided not to pursue it further.
In a statement today, the police said Lim had informed them during a meeting yesterday that she was satisfied with Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam’s parliamentary reply last week over a notification she received from Apple that her iPhone could have been hacked by “state-sponsored attackers”.
“Accordingly, she did not file a police report, nor did she require any forensic examination of her phone. As such, the police will treat the matter as closed,” it said in the statement.
In Parliament on Feb 18, the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency Member of Parliament had asked for confirmation that her phone had not been hacked by Singapore’s state agencies. Lim said received a notification from the phone manufacturer that her phone could be under threat of hacking by state actors.
Shanmugam, who is also Law Minister, said Lim’s phone had not been hacked by Singapore state agencies, after he checked with his ministry. He then urged her to come forward to the Ministry of Home Affairs for a “thorough investigation”.
Then on February 19, the police advised Lim to lodge a police report on the claim, which the police described as a serious allegation with implications for national security.
“Alternatively, if she does not wish to file a report, she can hand over her phone to the police, so that a forensic examination can be conducted,” the police said then.
The police had been willing to engage a commercial organisation with expertise in the field to conduct the forensic examination through a “secure, auditable and transparent” process, the police added.
Today, the police said it met Lim on February 23 at its request, adding that the notification she received from Apple was similar to what was sent to various other iPhone users. — TODAY
