by Uzi Eilam
Singapore Under Attack / Uzi Eilam
Copyright © 2017 Uzi Eilam
All rights reserved; No parts of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information retrieval system, without the permission, in writing, of the author.
Translated from the Hebrew: Yael Schonfeld Abel
Contact: [email protected]
This book is dedicated with love to my wife, Naomi Eilam and my children, Osnat, Nimrod and Noa.
Chapter 1
In the control room of the Port of Singapore’s shipping container terminal, the night shift was almost over. The arriving shift supervisor was updated on a malfunction that had been discovered and repaired in one of the hoisting cranes.
The container system was considered the crown jewel of the Port of Singapore, and its employees often exhibited a patronizing attitude toward the employees of the oil and mixed-merchandise terminals. The Singapore terminal accounted for 20 percent of global container traffic. The volume of cargo and the terminal’s punctuality, unparalleled in any other port in the world, were a source of pride for the local team. Everyone knew these accomplishments were a result of the technological sophistication of the computerized conveyance system, which included two hundred cranes installed in fifty docks. Accurately routing the containers and striving for the shortest possible timeframe were two of the essential goals cited on a large sign posted in a prominent location at the entrance to the control room.
Control room personnel were seated opposite a row of screens tracking the cranes’ motions. Other screens monitored the ships still queuing up and displayed data regarding the unloading and loading process. The room was peaceful and quiet, with each employee focusing on his or her own screen. The sound of a siren and red lights flashing on two of the screens disrupted this peace.
The shift supervisor quickly ordered his employees to stop two bridge cranes that were moving toward each other. Each of them was transporting a forty-foot container. Everyone present followed the proceedings anxiously until the cranes were paused at a distance of several yards from each other. A sigh of relief echoed through the control room.
“We’ll operate the entire system manually until we find the cause of the problem,” the shift supervisor said, hurrying off to call the manager of the port.
After several technical explanations and a promise from the manager of the Information and Technology Division to cooperate in getting to the root of the problem, the shift supervisor hurried to the port manager’s office.
The manager of the Port of Singapore, a tall, heavyset man, was sitting at the head of a conference table, appearing concerned and guarded. Years ago, when he had served as commander of the Singapore Navy, he had often found himself in difficult circumstances. In his years as manager of the port, he had witnessed various mishaps stemming from mechanical failures, computer problems, and human error. He had supported the shift supervisor’s decision to disengage the automatic conveyor system, but he knew the terminal should not remain in this mode of operation for long and had declared a temporary state of emergency.
The port manager’s staff members, along with the development manager of the electronics company that had built the terminal’s new automatic conveyor system, were assembled around the table.
The various reports discussed focused on monitoring the people entering through all terminal gates, inspecting security camera footage, updates regarding the electronic system, and praise for the shift supervisor’s rapid response to the situation.
“I’ve updated General Tan and promised to identify the reason for the malfunction and to restore normal operations within the terminal as soon as possible. We’re not out of the woods yet. What do we know?” the port manager asked.
The shift supervisor updated the attendees. “We’ve summoned another crew of inspectors from their homes in order to make the most of the manual operation. We can continue operating all the equipment in the container terminal this way, maintaining an output of 50 percent of our usual rate when the containers are routed automatically.”
The port manager addressed the development manager from the electronics company. “That’s a good temporary solution. Any information on the reason for the malfunction?”
“We’ve inspected the software written for the routing system and didn’t identify any bugs,” the development manager began. “We’ve copied the existing software, and we intend to go over it in the company’s labs. We also had time to reinstall the algorithm managing the entire computer array in the automatic routing software, and we verified that the system was operating normally…”
“Does that mean we can already resume automatic operation?” the port manager asked.
“Based on our experience with these kinds of malfunctions,” the manager of the electronics company said, “you can resume normal operation, but do it in two phases. First, we’ll have to operate the system in a semi-automatic way. We believe the enhanced team of operators in the control room will be able to handle it with no problems. After a few hours, you can switch to fully automatic operation. In the meantime, we can inspect the system’s software in the company’s labs and identify any problems we come across.”
“We’ll switch to semi-automatic operation, in preparation for fully automated operation, immediately. We’ve got a lot of work to do,” the port manager said.
***
The office of General Tan, head of the National Security Institute in Singapore, was still staffed even at such a late hour. The conference room was packed with people whispering in anticipation of the general, who was due to arrive at any moment. All the port terminal personnel who had been present at the nocturnal meeting were sitting around the table. Only one other person had joined their ranks. Brigadier-General David Rogel, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’1 senior representative in Singapore, had been called in by Tan’s office manager. Like many of his colleagues in Singapore, General Tan tended to seek support when he found himself in unfamiliar situations. Despite the certainty and confidence that the general exhibited, he was not truly confident. Tan tried to camouflage this weakness with his strident style. He greeted the attendees but did not sit down.
“I called you here to get to the bottom of what happened in the shipping container terminal today. I want to know the reason for the malfunction in the automatic conveyor system, and to hear recommendations on how we should proceed in the future.” Tan addressed the manager of the electronics company. “What’s the bottom line at this stage?”
“We’ve thoroughly examined the control systems for container routing in the terminal and reinstalled the algorithm. We’ve inspected the full version of the software in our labs, and we didn’t see any issues. Most likely, some signal infiltrated the electronic system. We’ve considered the possibility of an electromagnetic flash due to the lightning storm that occurred around that time. We’ll continue to look into it, and see if we can come up with an applicable conclusion.”
“The system has been running via automatic routing for three hours now with no problems,” the port manager said. “An analysis of all terminal security cameras didn’t indicate any suspicious activity either. I want to praise the alertness exhibited by the container routing shift supervisor.”
Brigadier-General David Rogel was listening to every word. Although he was not fluent in the details of the container automatic routing system, he was adept at detecting and understanding what went unsaid. The topic of cybersecurity w
as well known to him. Prior to being appointed to his role in Singapore, he had taken part in discussions regarding protection from such attacks in Israel. And now Singapore was entering the cybersecurity minefield as well. Rogel was certain that protecting Singapore would contribute to Israel’s preparedness for the cyber future as well. He debated whether to step in and express his opinion at this stage, when he was still a newcomer to Singapore.
“General Tan,” Rogel said. “I understand your need to praise the terminal’s shift supervisor but, if I may, I’d advise against publicizing any of this externally. There is a chance that this ‘electronic flash’ is actually a form of cyber attack. Initially, they attempt a one-time activation of the attack and don’t proceed, but rather go back to perfecting their software in order to strike again in the future, when they’re certain their system is effective. And such a brief span of operation makes it very hard to identify the source of the attack.”
“I understand.” Tan turned to his office manager, who was busily documenting the proceedings. “Check in immediately with the bureaus of the minister of defense and the prime minister to see when I can update them. If this is a cyber attack, it won’t stop with our port. We might need assistance from some of our allies abroad.”
“As for assistance and advice,” Rogel noted, “I know that Dr. Gideon Ben Ari will be arriving here in the next few days. I’m sure you’ve met him before. He’ll be coming with a young Israeli named Dan Avni for a series of meetings on civil technology issues. I’m sure they’ll be able to help.”
“We’ll look into that. Thank you all for your clarifications. We’re dealing with a complex task here that will require plenty of thoughtful work,” General Tan concluded, rising from his seat to shake hands with each of the attendees.
* * *
1Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, usually referred to as Rafael, is an Israeli defense technology company. It was founded as Israel’s National Research and Development Defense Laboratory for the development of weapons and military technology within the Ministry of Defense. In 2002 it was incorporated as a limited company.
Chapter 2
The business-class section in El Al’s flight from Tel Aviv to Bangkok was full of young businesspeople, many of them on their way to Singapore. An atmosphere resembling a start-up company seemed to envelop the cabin.
“So, what will we focus on during our visit to Singapore?” Dan asked Gideon when he noticed that his companion was sipping from his whiskey glass again, apparently emerging from his previous state of contemplation and returning to reality.
“We have a few meetings in Singapore. Rafael’s representative in Singapore knows we’re coming and will meet us personally at Changi Airport. Before the meeting, I’d be happy if you could give me a summary of IOT. It’s important for me to know and understand where this technology is taking us, and what you propose we reveal to our friends in Singapore…”
“Who is Rafael’s representative?”
“He’s reserve Brigadier-General David Rogel…”
“Rogel? I know him from my service in the Intelligence Corps. He was one of the unit’s geniuses. So he’s here now?” Dan asked.
“The management of Rafael’s organization made a smart decision when they sent a man with his diverse technological background and reputation here. We have some meetings scheduled with very high-ranking Singaporeans. One of them is an extraordinary person with whom I’m well acquainted from my previous dealings with Singapore: Fang Quan Lin.”
“Chinese, based on his name?”
“The members of the elite Chinese group leading Singapore hold quite a few key roles in governmental companies and state-owned entities. Quan Lin has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from MIT in Boston, and a master of architecture degree, cum laude, from Harvard. The Fang family is represented in other crucial positions and, in addition to its governmental roles, established a large real estate company doing business in Southeast Asia as well as in China. Quan Lin also heads the administration of Changi Airport, and is chairperson of the National Arts Council. He’s an open, energetic, and highly inquisitive person,” Gideon said.
“And he’s different from other Singaporeans?” Dan challenged.
“The average Singaporean wouldn’t take the risk or succumb to the temptation of making leaps of logic when it comes to business. Research and development topics have been a mystery to them since they were pushed into claiming their independence. Luckily for me, I met him as he was just embarking on his career path and, even then, I recognized that he was capable of thinking outside the box. I wrote to him about you and your ideas for utilizing the new technology. Since you’re the expert, I’m switching to listening mode.”
“IOT, which stands for Internet of Things, is an idea based on a network comprising a large number of sensors,” Dan began, touched by Gideon’s open profession of ignorance regarding IOT technology. He hoped that one day he, too, would find himself in a place where he could openly acknowledge his weaknesses. “The unique aspects of these sensors are their minute size and their low cost. The sensors are designed to communicate with one another and convey directives and operating instructions. In the future, the sensors will convey immense amounts of information to special databases that will allow systems to operate almost entirely automatically. We’re on the verge of a communications breakthrough that will dwarf the Internet revolution. The new communication will rely on diverse sensors communicating among themselves and issuing instructions with very little human involvement. The scale of the information and the number of operating instructions conveyed will significantly surpass those in current online systems,” Dan explained.
“And how can we convince the Singaporeans that they need us to take part in the development process? You have to remember that they might perceive anything intangible as insignificant…”
“Even today, Western countries and private industries, particularly in the United States, are already investing hundreds of millions of dollars in this technology. The pioneering applications of this technology are Adidas’s sensor shoe, Apple’s smart watch, Samsung’s smart refrigerator, Google Glass, and other products that are using a small number of sensor systems, called ‘wearable technology.’ Such products are already receiving information from one another and transmitting automatic operating instructions.
“Our company, New Horizon, has been contracted by Adidas to take part in developing a smart running shoe. And while developing the algorithm, we formed insights that are pertinent to using this technology in general. For example, in the course of the project, we observed how the shoe can adjust the flexibility of its sole using sensors, a magnet, and a microcomputer guided by its embedded algorithm. The shoe can determine its flexibility based on the nature of the road, the style of running, the speed of running, and the person’s weight. The sensors embedded in the sole convey a thousand measurements per second to the microcomputer, also installed in the shoe. And it works!”
“Remember to bring it up at the meeting. Quan Lin has a good imagination, but an example like that could convey the value of this technology to other people in the organization as well.”
“In my opinion there are several areas that could interest them,” Dan began. “Beyond the smart wearables and the concept of a smart city is a super-system that links all the other systems. Developing the required infrastructure will put whoever controls the technology at an immense advantage.”
“The second area,” Dan continued, “is the military and security applications of which Singapore is certainly aware, such as a defense application. The more advanced the IOT system becomes, the more vulnerable it is to cyber attacks. The hundreds of thousands of different sensors are an invitation to hostile interference. Another aspect is the automatic nature of massive databases, on which the system relies, and which facilitates such interference.”
“The question is whether we can c
onvince the Singaporeans of the profitability of entering this field. Let’s try to present this idea to my friend Fang Quan Lin and see how he reacts,” Gideon stated.
On their way to Passport Control, they encountered a camera crew.
“What’s the function of the cameras?” Dan asked.
“It’s a system that detects passengers with a high body temperature, or whose baggage contains suspicious items. The ones suffering from a fever are taken for a medical exam, while those suspected of carrying prohibited items are taken for questioning. The Singaporeans are sensitive to the convenience of their tourists, and they don’t want to oppress visitors with unnecessary inspections. Data from this observation is transferred directly to the airport’s control center.”
“So, in fact, if you consider this control system for incoming travelers, this is already an initial application of the IOT system.”
Brigadier-General David Rogel was waiting for them beyond the Passport Control stands and baggage claim. He was wearing a long-sleeved white button-down shirt, the formal outfit for business meetings in Singapore.
“Welcome to Singapore. We’re on our way to the Shangri La Hotel, among the highest rated local hotels. It’s in a quiet location, surrounded by water and greenery, but it is also not far from Orchard Road and the large shopping centers. Mr. Fang Quan Lin asked to meet you for breakfast tomorrow at the hotel. You deserve some rest after your long journey. You can pamper yourselves in this well-equipped hotel. It’s also got a fancy gym. I’d recommend using it rather than jogging outside, since the humidity and heat here, even in the morning, aren’t easy to deal with. I’ll save the updates for tomorrow, when we meet around noon.”
Chapter 3
Gideon opened his eyes and, for a moment, could not remember where he was. Wasting no time, he put on his workout clothes and headed for the ground floor toward the gym. A row of stationary bikes and treadmills stood along a large window looking out on the garden. He began to pedal, gradually increasing his pace, as memories from his previous visits to Singapore began to surface. The verdant variety of tropical plants, the smell of the moist air after a downpour of tropical rain, the long morning runs through the streets of the awakening city. His affection for the small country and its people was still in evidence.
