There have been nascent attempts to use both online and offline methods of foreign interference here, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said yesterday, reiterating the need for laws to counter them.

Such laws will need to give the Government powers to make targeted and surgical interventions to investigate and respond to hostile information campaigns.

Such campaigns use a range of content, not just falsehoods, and are not just restricted to election periods, so the laws must also deal with a diverse range of threats, including the flow of funds, Mr Shanmugam added.

Speaking at a conference on foreign interference tactics and countermeasures, Mr Shanmugam said foreign interference is an age-old threat.