HSA looking to get anti-vape cyber surveillance tool with AI capabilities

Yahoo

5 days ago

SINGAPORE - The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) is planning to buy a cyber surveillance tool specifically targeting illegal vaping activities online.
Such activities include the sale and promotion of e-vaporisers on social networks.
Its search functions are expected to be extensive and include phone numbers, email and IP addresses.
HSA put up the tender on the GeBiz platform on March 28 and closed it on April 15.
GeBIZ, or Government Electronic Business, is the Singapore Government's one-stop e-procurement portal.
All public sector invitations for quotations and tenders are posted on the platform.
Tender documents indicate that the tool will be for both HSA and the Ministry of Health.
Two suppliers have responded to the posting.
Cobwebs Asia, the Singapore office of US web surveillance company Penlink, made a bid of $959,053.
Penlink merged with Israeli surveillance contractor Cobwebs Technologies in 2023.
The second supplier is Singaporean digital forensics company, Talon Laboratories, which made a bid of $422,000.
The company was founded by digital forensic professionals who were previously from local law enforcement agencies.
Both bidders boast platforms powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that can profile users and track their online activity in real-time.
The requirements set out in the tender include search functions across social media, forums and blogs.
It should also be able to analyse profiles and score them based on the level of risk, with AI-based analysis methods for deep target profiling.
Optional modules requested are for enhanced web investigations with location-based insights.
The tender has not been awarded yet.
The Straits Times has contacted HSA for comment.
A large number of vape transactions here are arranged over the Telegram messaging platform, which HSA monitors alongside social media sites and e-commerce platforms.
HSA said on July 16 it had removed over 600 Telegram groups advertising the sale of vapes here since April 2024.
More than 6,800 online listings of vapes and its related components were previously removed from e-commerce and social media platforms from January 2024 to March 2025.
HSA said its Tobacco Regulation Branch has been actively monitoring and enforcing the ban on advertisements and sales of vapes online using automated tools.
When ST launched its anti-vaping campaign, Vaping: The Invisible Crisis, on July 13, several Telegram channels selling vapes became significantly less active.
The campaign aims to raise awareness on the vape scourge.
Of particular concern is the rise of etomidate-laced vapes, also known as 'Kpods'.
Etomidate is a medicinal ingredient used in clinical practice as an anaesthetic agent and is classified as a poison under the Poisons Act.
It was designed to be injected directly into the veins under clinical supervision, and was never meant to be inhaled directly into the lungs.
When vaped, it can trigger spams, breathing difficulties, seizures and even psychosis.
Kpods have reportedly been pushed in Singapore by organised crime groups, with the local authorities now intensifying crackdowns.
Public healthcare institutions have also been told to record all Kpod cases.
Possessing, using or buying vapes carries a maximum fine of $2,000.
Anyone who distributes, imports or sells vapes and their components can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $10,000.
Those found in possession of or using pods containing etomidate can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $10,000.
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Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction
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