SINGAPORE is introducing new standards for mobile app safety and launching a research centre for online safety, Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo said in Parliament on Wednesday (Jan 10).

These new initiatives were announced in response to a parliamentary motion filed by Members of Parliament (MPs) to “sustain trust by building an inclusive and safe digital society”.

In the wake of digital scams that have resulted in heavy losses for victims, MPs had suggestions ranging from greater government information-sharing with the tech and banking sectors, to a central agency to manage scam cases.

Said Yio Chu Kang Single Member Constituency MP Yip Hon Weng: “Dedicated helplines and support networks are critical for seniors to seek assistance with digital issues and report scams without fear to address the prevalence of online scams.”

The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s loss-sharing framework for phishing scams came under fire from Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim, who called it “fundamentally unfair”.

Released last October, the framework proposes that financial institutions should bear the full loss of scams in the first instance, followed by telcos – but only if they breach certain specified duties.

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Prof Lim said that while writeoffs are typically a small fraction of a bank’s balance sheet, scams can be “ruinous” for the depositor.

Therefore, he called for more robust laws that offer financial protection to consumers, such as limiting scam victims’ losses to low amounts such as S$100 to S$500.

Such an approach would also lead to financial institutions taking a stronger stance against such scams, he said.

“Financial institutions will take more care to police phishing and fraud, since they can no longer pass on most of the costs of losses to consumers,” he added.

“There will also be a more pressing incentive to chase down transfers made to suspicious counterparties and they will no longer condone and authorise purchases made with ill-gotten money.”

These suggestions were not taken up by Teo, who instead laid out other moves that her ministry is taking to improve online safety.

These include the Safe App Standard, published by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore on Jan 10.

Developers of apps that perform high-risk transactions, such as banking and e-commerce apps, are encouraged to adopt the new standard to protect their apps from common malware and phishing attacks.

The standard covers four areas – authentication, authorisation, data storage as well as anti-tampering and anti-reversing – with four more to be added in the first quarter of 2025.

An example of a recommendation within the standard is to store sensitive data on an app’s servers, where it is typically better protected, instead of on the user’s mobile device.

The standard will be updated over time to address emerging threats, technological advancements and industry developments.

The ministry will also assess the standard’s usefulness before deciding if it should be made mandatory, Teo said.

Amid MPs’ calls for greater accountability from device manufacturers and tech companies, the minister said that the government is working with Google to design new features to better detect and deter users from downloading malicious files on devices running the Android operating system.

Malware scams became more prevalent in 2023, with over 1,400 victims losing at least S$20.6 million between January and August, according to police data.

Teo also acknowledged that there have been calls for a return to physical tokens. While such tokens may be resistant to malware, people may still be tricked by phishing scams into giving away their codes, she said.

She added that the ministry’s agencies are studying longer-term solutions, such as Fast Identity Online passkeys. Passkeys are digital credentials that can be stored on a user’s device and used with a biometric sensor, pin or pattern to log in to online services.

Another area of focus for the government is combating new forms of online harms, including misinformation and content manipulation through techniques such as deepfakes.

Deepfakes are false images or videos generated via artificial intelligence technology.

In December 2023, deepfake videos posted online seemed to show Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, promoting investing scams.

In Wednesday’s debate, Jurong GRC MP Tan Wu Meng said that deepfakes are a serious matter for democracies around the world.

“No government, regardless of which political party they come from, will be able to govern in any country without that fundamental basis for deliberative democratic discussion,” he said.

To combat these and other threats, MCI will lead the S$20 million Online Trust and Safety Research Programme, which includes setting up a new Centre for Advanced Technologies in Online Safety.

Hosted by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, the centre will focus on building and customising tools to detect harmful content, such as deepfakes and non-factual claims. It will also develop potential interventions, such as the flagging and correction of misinformation, as well as test technologies that verify authentic content.

More than 30 professionals, including scientists, engineers, operations staff and adjunct members, will be involved in the centre.

Teo said: “These research efforts will also help inform new legislation or regulations that we will need for issues like deepfakes which we are studying.”

Separately, the Infocomm Media Development Authority has released operational guidelines for telecoms companies to ensure that vulnerable consumers, such as those with intellectual disabilities, are not scammed into signing up for mobile plans and handsets and saddled with unpaid bills.

The guidelines also encourage telcos to consider waiving charges for vulnerable consumers who have been scammed.

Teo said that the Ministry of Home Affairs is exploring ways to better protect the public, particularly those who still believe scammers despite being warned by family members and the police.