SAF To Ease Ban on Camera Phones in Camp BUT With a Twist

I read in disbelief this morning about SAF (Singapore Armed Force) allowing camera phones into army camps. I thought that finally they have relented to the pressure of the consumers. However, there is a simple twist to their policy.

Although it is not official yet, Straits Times managed to find out that even though they allow Camera Phones, the camera in the phone must be physically taken out and covered with a cover.

The Straits Times has learnt that under proposed changes, all SAF personnel will be allowed to bring these phones into all military installations islandwide, so long as the cameras inside them are removed.

Based on the report, the policy is not fixed yet and seems that some people in SAF are already on trial for such policy to be implemented. From my understanding, currently, even phones that have camera disabled or taken out are not allowed in the camps as they are based on the phone make and model.

Here is a website that was on Straits Times today. It shows a website that provides such a service (remove camera on phone) in Singapore.

http://noncam.com

Here is a video to show the results of their service. Seems that they are Koreans because the iPhone OS is in Korean.

I think that SAF should think of other implications. Taking pictures is a small part in it. Transmitting of vital information is actually more critical. In Smartphones, I believe hackers or users can install programs to cripple the network or to steal information. It is not necessary to just snap a few pictures to update.

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So, SAF should think of ways to prevent external devices from connecting to the network (via bluetooth, wirelessly, cables and etc). If you are have so, good job (I have been in RM for a long time already). If you have not, think of the impact.

What do you think? Will banning the camera in camps solve the problem of information leaking out?

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