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This software is licensed, not sold. That sentence, which has scrolled past PC users’ eyeballs for decades as they click through Windows license agreements without reading them, is what made Bill Gates rich. It is also the gateway to an insanely confusing thicket of legal verbiage, and Microsoft has made the topic even more bewildering […] More
Are you getting a ton of spam text messages? How annoying is it to be interrupted with a notification on your iPhone, only for it to be yet another junk message? Here’s a secret: you can make these go away using a feature already in iOS. It’s just a little hidden. Here’s how you do […] More
Banks in Singapore will have to provide a “kill switch” as part of a new slew of security measures to safeguard against growing online scams. Consumers also are urged to access their accounts via mobile banking apps, instead of web browsers, to minimise risks. The latest set of measures would complement those introduced in January this year, shortly after a spat of online scams involving OCBC Bank customers resulted in losses of more than SG$8.5 million ($6.32 million).The new measures were unveiled Thursday and expected to come into effect by October 31 this year, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS). Local banks would progressively roll out the latest round of measures, which included setting the default transaction limit for online funds transfers to no higher than SG$5,000 and requiring additional confirmation from customers to process “significant changes” to their accounts. Further confirmations also would be required for high-risk transactions identified through fraud surveillance. Banks also must assign bank staff to the Singapore Police Force Anti-Scam Centre, in order to facilitate “rapid” account freezing and fund recovery operations. The emergency self-service kill switch must enable customers to suspend their accounts quickly should they suspect a security breach, MAS said. It added that banks were expected to enhance their fraud surveillance systems to address a broader range of scam scenarios. The industry regulator also urged consumers to use mobile banking apps, instead of web browsers, to access their accounts in order to minimise the risks of navigating to fraudulent websites.To drive mobile use, banks would improve the functionality of their apps and help their customers transition towards greater adoption of mobile apps, MAS said. In the OCBC scams, scammers had manipulated SMS Sender ID details to push out messages that appeared to be from the bank, urging the victims to resolve issues with their bank accounts. They then were redirected to phishing websites and instructed to key in their bank login details, including username, PIN, and One-Time Password (OTP). In its statement Thursday, MAS reminded consumers that they, too, played a role combating scams and must keep up with online banking hygiene practices as scam tactics evolved. These included updating themselves on scam advisories and alerts issued by the police and banks, and referring to official sources such as MAS Financial Institution Directory and hotline numbers to communicate with banks;MAS said: “The ongoing fight against scams requires an ecosystem approach, with all stakeholders playing their part in staying vigilant and guarding against scams. A draft framework aimed at achieving an equitable loss sharing between consumers and financial institutions is being finalised and will be put up for public consultation as part of a revised E-Payments User Protection Guidelines soon.”OCBC in February introduced its kill switch, allowing customers to cut access to all their accounts if they suspected their personal data had been compromised. When activated, the kill switch would freeze all accounts including digital banking, e-payment, ATM access, and credit cards. Customers would need to call the Singapore bank’s hotline and use option “8” to trigger the kill switch, or do so via OCBC’s network of 500 ATMs. RELATED COVERAGE More
Singapore is setting up a facility to drive the development of digital trust technologies, such as tools to ensure privacy in data exchange and assess the trustworthiness of digital systems. Called Digital Trust Centre, the new facility would drive the nation’s research and development (R&D) efforts in digital trust technologies as well as build the necessary talent, said Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). It noted that trust technologies aimed to augment systems in digital trust principles that spanned privacy, accountability, identity, integrity, fairness, safety, and compliance. Increasing connectivity, data use, and new technologies have underscored the need for digital trust in global economies, said IMDA. This would require technology to be secure and used responsibly, it said. “Digital trust is the confidence users have in the ability of people, technology, and processes to create a secured digital world,” the Singapore government agency said. The Digital Trust Centre will be funded by IMDA and National Research Foundation with an investment of SG$50 million ($36.36 million). Nanyang Technological University has been tasked to establish the centre. The new facility would facilitate research by enabling Institutes of Higher Learning and research institutes to build research capabilities in trust technologies as well as facilitate local and international collaboration. It also would encourage organisations and academia to co-develop and drive research ideas towards commercialisation. In additional, the trust centre would provide a sandbox to enable companies to test trust technologies that address challenges with data-sharing. The centre would train 100 R&D experts in digital trust, according to IMDA. Montreal partnership to focus on trusted AIIMDA also announced on Wednesday a new partnership with the International Centre of Expertise of Montreal for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (CEIMIA) in a “privacy enhancing technologies” (PET) project.These involved tools and processes that enabled the sharing of insights extracted from data, without disclosure of that data. This presented potential to tap value from private or proprietary data that businesses would not usually be willing to disclose, IMDA said.Under the cross-border collaboration, both cities would run practical PET demonstrations for AI systems and extract Insights to develop practical guidance for AI developers and system owners. This would further guide future R&D work and business adoption of PETs, as well as contribute towards developing international standards.The project aimed to showcase how PET could enable AI systems that were geared towards ongoing efforts by the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) in climate action, better health, and future of work. Such AI systems involved commercial and government stakeholders and often across multiple jurisdictions, making the use of PETs to overcome data barriers more compelling. Singapore is a founding member of the GPAI, a multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to foster international cooperation towards operationalising AI. Under the partnership, CEIMIA and IMDA would commit their respective expertise, including Singapore’s Digital Trust Centre, and tap ongoing efforts in GPAI’s other working groups to scope, design, engineer, and demonstrate real-world PET applications.Singapore last week launched a governance testing framework and toolkit to demonstrate their “objective and verifiable” use of AI. The move was part of the government’s efforts to drive transparency in AI deployments through technical and process checks.RELATED COVERAGE More
How have IT skills requirements evolved with the rise of cloud computing and digital transformation? More
Cloud computing security is complicated, but now a top priority for business. Credit: Getty Images/Charday Penn It’s clear that cloud computing is rapidly becoming the dominant model for used by business to host data and applications, and to develop new services. Special Feature Adoption of cloud computing has been growing rapidly over the past decade, […] More
Image: Getty The popularity of cloud applications and software has risen significantly in recent years. But while using cloud services can be beneficial for businesses and employees, it also carries new cybersecurity risks. Special Feature The ability to log in from anywhere using cloud applications is convenient for employees, but it’s also a potential new […] More
Shutterstock Many firms are realising that while shifting applications and infrastructure over to cloud computing services can make life easier in some ways, it doesn’t mean they can give up all responsibility for keeping their data secure. Special Feature Cloud security is the fastest growing segment of the security market, with spending jumping from $595 […] More
