New Mobile App to Serve as “Eyes and Ears” During Emergencies

TODAY

24 September 2016

To provide the Republic with more eyes and ears on the ground during crises, a newly-launched mobile app will serve not only as a public alert system but also as a platform for the public to feed information back to the authorities.

The app was unveiled on Saturday (Sept 24) in conjunction with the launch of SGSecure national movement, which aims to ramp up the nation’s counter-terror strategy by reaching out to various stakeholders in the community.

While lauding the app’s potential for sharing “lifesaving information” quickly and accurately, security experts whom TODAY spoke to also flagged challenges, such as in ensuring its active usage among Singaporeans and the risk of the SGSecure app being hijacked.

During major emergencies, such a terror attack or riot, the app — which can now be downloaded from the Google Play and iOS app stores for free, and does not require registration — updates members of the public on the situation as it unfolds, such as which roads to avoid.

… Mr Benjamin Ang, a senior fellow at RSIS’ Centre of Excellence for National Security, said the app must complement other channels in sending out alerts during an emergency.

“All of the other channels, like SMS, TV, radio and sirens, still need to remain available, because not everyone will install the app.”

… Agreeing, Ms Nur Diyanah said specific groups of people may be excluded from using the app, such as the elderly or those who cannot afford mobile phones.

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Last updated on 28/09/2016