SingPass 2FA registration system simplified

Singapore

AFTER the government introduced the two-factor authentication (2FA) process last July to enhance personal data protection for those who use SingPass to access a host of e-government services, it received feedback that the registration process for 2FA was cumbersome.

The process has now been simplified.

2FA, now widely used by bank customers to perform online banking transactions more securely, is a process which requires users to key in a one-time password (OTP) delivered either by SMS to a registered phone or generated via a token in order to access a particular online service.

There are more than 3.3 million users of SingPass (Singapore Personal Access), the gateway to hundreds of e-services provided by more than 60 government agencies. From July 5 this year, more than 100 such e-services will need 2FA for access to them; this means that, in addition to their SingPass username and password, users will need to enter an OTP sent via SMS or generated through a OneKey token.

Since last July, when 2FA was introduced, SingPass users have needed to register for it, activate it, and then link their 2FA at three websites, so getting on board this enhanced-security system was a multi-step process.

Under the simplified system, users need only do the following:

From next month, users will even be able to register for 2FA via an SMS and to obtain a PIN sent to them by post. The government will also start auto-registering users and sending mailers with the PIN and how-to details to their registered addresses.

The IDA, which runs the SingPass system, wants to get all registered SingPass users to switch over to 2FA. The agency has not disclosed the number of SingPass users who have already registered.It said users need to set up their 2FA by July 4, or they would be unable to perform sensitive government e-transactions, such as tax filing and accessing CPF statements.

They need to wait for up to seven working days for the PIN mailer to activate the 2FA before they can perform transactions.