IfG.CC - The Institute for eGovernment

The MOU defines the framework within which both organisations can explore opportunities to collaborate on Infocomm Technology (ICT) activities and projects related to eGovernment, said the IDA International in a statement on Tuesday.

From the third quarter next year, SingPass users can opt-in to enter a one-time passcode generated by a hardware token or a SMS passcode sent to their mobile phones – in addition to their login credentials – before transacting with the government.

The authorities are rolling out new measures to get the masses on board SingPass' new two-factor authentication (2FA) as the clock ticks towards a July 4 sign-up deadline.

2FA is a process involving the use of a one-time password (OTP), randomly generated and delivered via SMS or a token that looks like a mini-calculator. The OTP must be entered in addition to the usual SingPass - a password set up since 2003 - and NRIC number for accessing e-government services.

The new Software Design and Development Centre of Excellence allows Government agencies to tap its capabilities to design online services that better cater to people's needs.

Come mid-July, there will be a new Software Design and Development Centre of Excellence, and Government agencies can tap its research and data analytics capabilities to design online services to better meet citizens' needs, said Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim.

Singtel claims its 5G coverage in Singapore has achieved 95 percent, three years ahead of the government’s 2025 objective. Businesses in the public, transportation, and tourist sectors are being targeted by the local telecom.

There are presently 1,300 outdoor places and 400 inside locations, including underground, covered by Singtel’s national standalone 5G network. In June 2020, Singapore’s industry regulator Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) awarded two national 5G licences to the mobile carrier. In November 2021, an additional 2.1GHz of spectrum was made available.

About half of all 3.3 million account holders have not registered for SingPass' new two-factor authentication (2FA) feature when the July 4 sign-up deadline passed.

The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), which administers SingPass, said last week that only 400,000 of these are regular SingPass users, and it is working on getting them on board with a deadline extension.

Digitisation, devices such as smartphones and the adaptation of technology have progressed at an amazing pace over the last decade. Paper books have evolved into e-books, DVDs into streamed films, CDs into MP3s, and road maps into GPS.

Business and personal correspondence fill digital mailboxes. Newspapers and the news flash on screens anywhere, anytime. Facebook has 1.9 billion users, an average person spends 35 minutes a day on the social network, and 350 million photos are uploaded daily.

Users logging in to government e-services with SingPass can now verify their identities more easily by scanning their faces or sending a one-time password over SMS to a trusted family member or friend.

The new two-factor authentication (2FA) options, rolled out yesterday in Singapore, are aimed at helping the less tech-savvy connect securely to e-government services.

In the Institute for Management Development’s Smart City Index this year, Singapore is the top Asian city and is ranked seventh globally. The index ranks 141 cities by how they use technology to address the challenges they face to achieve a higher quality of life. It also reveals that Singapore is among six cities to have been continuously improving their performance since 2019.

Leaders from various industries weigh in on what Singapore should focus on next to make further progress in its Smart Nation journey:

Three months ago, the Government upgraded the SingPass system to make it safer for residents to access online government services.

SingPass is a password system set up for all Singapore residents in 2003. Users enter a password with their NRIC numbers to access over 200 e-government services, at agencies like the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.

But like other simple password schemes, SingPass is prone to security vulnerabilities when users adopt passwords that are easy to remember, like birth dates, which hackers can easily find out. Using one's NRIC number as a username is also insecure as the string of seven numbers is predictable.

A click of the button is all that is needed to automatically fill up e-transaction forms of locally-registered businesses from 2018.

This is happening as the Government extends the integration of its digital vault of personal data to the private sector.

GovTech, the government agency which oversees technology transformation in the public sector, launched the MyInfo Developer and Partner Portal on Friday (Nov 10).

A new repository, called MyInfo, will consolidate the personal data of Singapore residents and provide it on request to auto-fill government e-service forms.

"Citizens often ask why they need to give different government agencies the same data about themselves repeatedly for separate transactions," Mr Peter Ong, the head of the Civil Service, said at the Digital Government Exchange 2016 yesterday, when MyInfo was launched.

The Government needs to remove the "inconvenience and friction" in making e-transactions, he said.

A key component of Singapore's new national digital identity (NDI) system for residents will be rolled out in the second half of this year.

The SingPass Mobile app will allow people to access e-government services more securely, and without the need for physical tokens and SMS one-time passwords (OTPs), said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Launching the system yesterday, Assurity Trusted Solutions, a subsidiary of the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), said it was targeting key sectors like government and healthcare, and discussions are on-going with between 30 and 50 companies in these sectors.

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) announced yesterday that it is adding new security features to protect SingPass users against potential hacks and security breaches.

SingPass accounts which have been inactive for more than three years will now have their passwords reset automatically.

A team of coders and engineers are being assembled to lead the creation of the next-generation government e-services using data captured by Singapore's smart nation infrastructure.

These people, including project managers, will form part of Singapore's first Software Design and Development Centre of Excellence to be launched by mid-July.

Once the pilot project goes live next year, the cloud-based tool can process and understand a citizen’s question accurately and provide an answer within seconds. This capability will enable citizens to better navigate government services and get personalised advice when using online services.

A team of coders and engineers is being assembled to lead the creation of the next-generation e-government services using data captured by Singapore's smart nation infrastructure.

These people, including project managers, will form part of Singapore's first Software Design and Development Centre of Excellence to be launched by mid-July.

OCBC Bank on Tuesday (Jun 5) announced that it has rolled out a digital account-opening service which leverages national data repository MyInfo.

The new service will allow customers who are Singaporeans or permanent residents to instantly open an account without having to visit a bank branch or provide documents, said the bank in a media release.

The visits, which are in line with the Sultanate's efforts to develop its e-government services, coincide with the Infocomm Media Business Exchange (imbX), Asia's largest infocomm and media event.

According to a senior official at the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), one of the delegations represents Oman's Information Technology Authority (ITA) while the other one comprises representatives of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).