Singapore will introduce two-factor authentication for residents to conduct online transactions with the government.
The security measure will be implemented in the second half of 2015. This comes after more than 1500 accounts used to access e-government services were found to be at risk in June.
Along with entering the password to their SingPass accounts, users will also have to enter a one-time second password delivered to them at the time of the transaction. This technique is commonly used by banks to secure online transactions.
The second password will by default be delivered in an SMS to the user’s registered phone number. In cases of sensitive transactions, users may have to use a hardware token to get the password. The government is currently deciding which services will need the use of a hardware token, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) has said.
For the first year, people will be able to opt in to use the two-factor authentication to transact with government online. The government will then use data collected in this period to decide whether it should continue to be a choice for users or will be made mandatory for all, IDA said.
SingPass login is required to access more than 350 online government services in Singapore and has 3.3 million users.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Medha Basu
Quelle/Source: futureGov, 28.11.2014
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