SINGAPORE – It is critical for Singapore’s public sector to modernise its legacy IT systems and protect itself from cyberthreats, said the country’s public accounts watchdog.

In a Feb 10 report, the Public Accounts Committee also highlighted recurring lapses in procurement and contract management, as well as the need to strengthen supervisory oversight in the public sector.

The parliamentary committee, chaired by Ms Jessica Tan, comprises six other PAP MPs and WP MP Dennis Tan. It scrutinises how public funds are spent and tracks what government agencies have done to correct irregularities in using these funds.

In reviewing the Auditor-General’s report for the 2024-2025 financial year, the committee focused on issues which could impact spending, financial governance and controls across the public sector.

It held three meetings and looked at written representations from 11 ministries, as well as the National Research Foundation and Smart Nation Group (SNG) under the Prime Minister’s Office.

The committee also convened hearings on Jan 21 and heard oral representations by the permanent secretaries from the Ministry of Finance, and for Digital Development and Information, Smart Nation, and Cybersecurity, to provide clarifications and elaboration of their written responses.

On IT controls and cybersecurity governance, the committee observed that weaknesses in privileged access management have recurred over the years. Privileged access management is the control and protection of accounts that have enhanced access beyond that of a standard user.

It also noted that digital transformation in government agencies is constrained by “tech debt” arising from legacy systems and outdated codes.

The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and Smart Nation Group (SNG) told the committee that such legacy issues make it “prohibitively expensive and complex to implement basic modern security controls”.

They also acknowledged that age...