Daily Briefing: New authentication options for SingPass transactions rolled out; Three charged over leaking of Singtel, StarHub subscriber information

And cooperation will be the key to recovery for financial services in SG.

From ChannelNewsAsia:

Two new two-factor authentication (2FA) options will be available for SingPass users transacting with government digital services starting 16 December, including an option to use face verification.

The new options will be rolled out ahead of the decommissioning of the OneKey token option at the end of March, and will “provide more convenience and accessibility to government digital services securely,” GovTech Singapore said in a news release.

“This is in line with the Government’s efforts to build a digitally inclusive society by enabling digital access to government digital services for people from all walks of life,” it added.

“Together with SingPass Mobile and SMS-OTP (one-time password), there are now four other 2FA options for the current OneKey token users.”

With the new face verification option, users can log in with their SingPass ID and password before scanning their face on an Internet-enabled computer with a web camera or a mobile device with a front-facing camera.

Read more here.

From ChannelNewsAsia:

Three Singaporean men were charged with committing corruption and computer misuse offences involving subscriber information from Singtel and StarHub, said the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau on 16 December.

Foo Cheek Ann Kelvin and Zhang Jiazheng allegedly helped 37-year-old Lee Cheng Yan retrieve confidential customer details, such as billing addresses, from Singtel and StarHub without authority.

The third man, Lim Zong Xian Philbert,allegedly gave Lee $1,000 for procuring some of the confidential details.

Foo, 32, worked as a retail consultant at Singtel subsidiary Telecom Equipment at the time of offence. He was charged with one count of corruptly agreeing to accept $180 from Lee in 2016, in return for retrieving confidential Singtel customer details.

Read more here. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/3-men-charged-leak-starhub-singtel-subscriber-information-13781460

From e27:

As business begins to return to normal in Southeast Asia, the outlook is still mixed elsewhere.

The pandemic forced a global slowdown, yet the economy has never fully stopped.

The strength of our interconnected world and supply chains continued to power the industry throughout the harshest periods of unrest.

Whilst Singapore is uniquely placed with a pro-business economy, an innovative industrial sector, and support from progressive government legislation such as the Digital Acceleration Grant, there’s one lesson that the rest of the world can apply to their own recovery.

Collaboration, like the recently signed RCEP free trade deal between 15 APAC countries, has been key to building back better financial services.

Read more here.