LTA to conduct independent tests to ensure public buses cannot be controlled remotely by manufacturers.

According to Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow, the manufacturers of Singapore’s public buses have stated that their vehicles lack remote command capability, and the extra technical tests are being conducted to confirm this.

SINGAPORE: Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow announced that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will perform “additional independent technical assessments” to verify that public buses in Singapore cannot be remotely controlled by their manufacturers.

This comes after cybersecurity worries arose late last year when it was discovered that Chinese maker Yutong Group could remotely control its buses for software updates and diagnostics.

LTA stated at the time that Yutong’s 20 electric buses in Singapore lacked remote command capability.

On Monday (Jan 12), Mr Siow stated in a written response to parliamentary questions posed by two Members of Parliament that the LTA had conducted technical reviews with all public bus manufacturers, who had guaranteed the authority that they could not manage the vehicles remotely.

“LTA will conduct additional independent technical assessments to verify this,” she said.Mr Siow was replying to queries from MPs Joan Pereira (PAP-Tanjong Pagar) and Melvin Yong (PAP-Radin Mas) about how cybersecurity risks related to electric public buses are being addressed.

Focussing on these vehicles, Mr Siow stated, “Public electric buses are an essential public transportation service.” As a result, cybersecurity vulnerabilities pose a greater danger to public safety and service continuity.

He stated that the LTA expects the makers of all electric buses in its fleet to have “certified cybersecurity controls to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats across the vehicle lifecycle” and to assure the security of over-the-air, or wireless, software upgrades.

“Any software updates or changes needed today are executed by authorised personnel on-site at the bus depot using a wired connection, only after LTA has verified the purpose of the updates and given approval,” the spokesperson said.

Noting that over-the-air updates for electric public buses are becoming more common and necessary to quickly patch vehicle software vulnerabilities, he stated that the LTA is collaborating closely with government cybersecurity agencies to investigate the safe transition from wired to over-the-air updates for its buses.

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