SINGAPORE - A secure online network that could provide Home Team agencies such as the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force with advanced computing resources to help officers on the ground is being developed.

This network, dubbed a “sovereign cloud” and said to be a first for Singapore, was announced by the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) and American technology giant Microsoft on Thursday (Feb 10). They are developing the network together.

While HTX did not provide details about its sovereign cloud, such networks and the related concept of digital sovereignty typically allow data to be collected and processed in a secure manner, and remain within the country’s borders.

These matters have been in the spotlight as there are concerns that the United States can use its laws to compel US technology companies, which build much of the Internet’s backbone, to surrender data stored in servers located in other countries. In response, some nations are building their own sovereign clouds, reported AFP. 

On Feb 3, German information technology firms SAP and Arvato Systems said they will be rolling out secure sovereign cloud infrastructure for Germany’s public sector. The network will be based on Microsoft’s technology, but its “infrastructure will be strictly separated from Microsoft’s global data centre infrastructure” and governed by German law, said the firms.

Microsoft is also working on a similar sovereign cloud for France, AFP reported.

HTX and Microsoft said on Thursday that the sovereign cloud move “will play a key role in the Home Team’s digital transformation and will enable the Home Team to deliver improved safety and security to all citizens, residents and visitors to Singapore”. 

HTX is tasked with developing cutting-edge capabilities for security or life-saving operations for the Home Team.

The two organisations said the sovereign cloud, together with high-speed connections and analytics, would provide Home Team officers with real-time data so that they can respond to incidents and make decisions more swiftly.

The online network will enable the agency to have access to resources to store data and carry out high-performance cloud computing on demand, as well as address emerging technology needs across Singapore’s Home Team departments, said HTX and Microsoft.

HTX did not say if it currently has access to such cloud computing, but it has rolled out a number of technology initiatives in recent years. 

For instance, a four-legged robot called Rover-X is being trialed to be the first responders to strengthen disaster rescue work especially in danger zones. Rover-X is packed with sensors and cameras and can move autonomously, even tackling stairs, kerbs and other terrain that stop the progress of traditional robots on tracks or wheels. 

Cloud computing, which usually refers to the delivery of computer services and applications over networks, has proven benefits. Businesses have used it to crunch data that could help them to identify trends, for instance. 

Such computing services can be quickly ramped up or scaled back by organisations based on their needs and they pay the service provider for what they use, freeing them from the necessity of buying their own servers and maintaining them for data storage and processing. As cloud computing uses standardised hardware and software, costs are also lower for users.

In 2012, the Government started moving to cloud computing, such as for shared government services including the authentication system for Singpass. It called this the Government Cloud. 

Then in 2018, the Government announced a five-year plan to move most of its IT systems to a commercial cloud service. 

The Government Technology Agency has said that as at July 2021, about 40 per cent of eligible government IT systems, or almost 600, were already on the cloud. The target is 70 per cent by March 31, 2024. These would be for less-sensitive government systems.

However, the Government also said in 2011 that if the Government Cloud could not meet the specific needs of an agency, for instance, greater data security, the agency could set up its own cloud. 

The Straits Times has contacted HTX for more details.

Additional reporting by Clara Chong