Synapxe

Synapxe, headquartered in Singapore and also known by its alias, is the organisation responsible for delivering internet connectivity and related network services to Singapore’s public healthcare institutions. Its primary function is to maintain the links that enable websites, staff email systems and productivity tools to operate across hospitals, polyclinics and other public‑sector health facilities, thereby supporting the administrative and operational workflows that underpin the sector’s daily activities. By ensuring stable connectivity, Synapxe helps these institutions access the digital tools needed for patient scheduling, internal communication and other non‑clinical functions that rely on the public internet.

A key distinguishing attribute of Synapxe is its focus on safeguarding the network infrastructure that supports public healthcare delivery, a focus highlighted by the distributed denial‑of‑service incident on 1 November 2023. During that event, malicious traffic circumvented existing traffic‑blocking services and overwhelmed firewalls, causing a seven‑hour outage of internet‑based services such as websites, staff emails and productivity tools while critical clinical systems remained online and no patient data was compromised. The organisation’s response involved coordinating with service providers to filter the malicious traffic and progressively restore connectivity, demonstrating its ability to manage large‑scale network disruptions under pressure. This incident also underscored Synapxe’s role in maintaining network resilience, as it worked to ensure that essential clinical operations continued unaffected despite the widespread administrative outage.

In the aftermath of the attack, Synapxe has continued to monitor for potential intermittent disruptions stemming from ongoing DDoS threats and has engaged with national cybersecurity authorities to develop active defence measures and review evolving counter‑measures. This ongoing collaboration reflects a commitment to strengthening the resilience of Singapore’s public healthcare network, ensuring that future incidents have minimal impact on both administrative tools and essential clinical services. Through these efforts, Synapxe seeks to balance the need for open internet access with robust security protections, thereby supporting the continued reliability of the health‑care sector’s digital infrastructure.