October 27, 2021

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New Two-Factor Authentication features provide convenience for SingPass users in Singapore

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From 16 December 2020, SingPass users will have two new Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) options when transacting with government digital services.

The introduction of SingPass Face Verification and Multi-User SMS 2FA will provide more convenience and accessibility to government digital services securely. 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.

Face Verification

With SingPass Face Verification, users can log in by entering their SingPass ID and password, followed by scanning their face on an Internet-enabled computer with a web camera, or a mobile device with a front-facing camera. Users without such devices can visit selected public locations equipped with this service, and more locations will be added progressively.

This technology is embedded with security measures to protect against fraud. For example, liveness detection technology is used to detect and block the use of a photograph, video, or mask during the verification process.

“We recognise that there are users who might not be as digitally savvy or able to navigate computers or smartphones. SingPass Face Verification as an alternative 2FA will be especially useful as it reduces the need to key in additional information like One-Time Passwords (OTPs). This option also serves our overseas Singaporean community who might not have a locally-registered number and are unable to receive SMS-OTPs,” said Mr Kwok Quek Sin, Senior Director, National Digital Identity.

Multi-User SMS 2FA

The Multi-User SMS 2FA is an extension of the existing SMS-OTP 2FA method. Users – who may require the assistance of others when transacting online – can opt to have their SMS-OTP sent to another SingPass user’s mobile number. For example, an elderly parent can choose to link his account to his child’s mobile number. With this, the child receives his parent’s SMS-OTP when the parent is transacting with SingPass. The child can then assist his parent in providing the 2FA to complete the transaction.

SingPass Face Verification and Multi-User SMS 2FA were launched ahead of the decommissioning of OneKey token in end-March 2021 – which was announced earlier on 31 March 2020. Together with SingPass Mobile and SMS-OTP, there are now four other 2FA options for the current OneKey token users. We are actively facilitating the remaining 120,000 OneKey token users to transit to these alternative 2FA methods, through direct mail, digital clinics and digital ambassadors.

There are currently three 2FA options for SingPass users – SingPass Mobile, SMS-OTP, OneKey token (to be decommissioned by 31 March 2021). These locations currently include IRAS Taxpayer and Business Service Centre, Our Tampines Hub’s Public Service Centre and CPFB’s Bishan Service Centre, and more locations will be rolled out progressively.

India Internet Governance Forum Looks at Universal Internet Access

Image credit: Press Information Bureau
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The India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) curtain-raiser, a precursor to IIGF has concluded. The curtain raiser ended with an insight into a roadmap for digitisation in India. IIGF will be jointly organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MietY), and the National Internet Exchange of India. The theme is ‘Empower India through Power of Internet’ and will include discussions on the road to digitisation in India. The salient feature of the event will be the three plenary sessions: India and Internet- India’s Digital Journey and Her Global Role, Equity, Access, and Quality; High-speed Internet for All; and Cyber Norms and Ethics in Internet Governance.

As per a government press release, the IIGF has been constituted in conformance to IGF-Paragraph 72 of the Tunis Agenda of the United Nations-based Internet Governance Forum (IGF). Through an open and inclusive process, IIGF will bring together stakeholders in the global Internet governance ecosystem, including the government, industry, civil society, and academia – as equal participants of the larger Internet governance discourse.

The objective of the curtain raiser event was to discuss the roadmap for digitisation and reaffirm India as an essential participant on the global stage by highlighting its role in international policy development on Internet governance. A government official explained that IIGF comes at an important time in the history of the evolution of the Internet in India. As the world is emerging from a pandemic, it is becoming increasingly visible that there have been disruptions and reinventions of businesses, governance, and governments across the world. The rate of digitalisation has increased and accelerated tremendously, he said.

India has around 800 million internet users at the moment, making it the largest connected nation. The press release stated that the government is committed to covering 1.2 billion people. The country still has about 400 million people outside the network and it’s important for the government to ensure that Internet connectivity is available for all. The intersection of policy framework, the emergence of cutting-edge technologies, and initiatives by private players present an exciting time for the evolution of the digital economy, an industry expert explained. The IIGF will be a step ahead in ensuring the inclusive participation of all stakeholders in harnessing the power of the Internet for economic growth.

Earlier this month, MeitY organised a workshop to create a roadmap to accelerate Internet access in currently unconnected parts of the country. The workshop, Connecting All Indians, invited public and private stakeholders, including India’s largest Internet service providers and officials from MeitY, the Department of Telecommunications, and the Ministry of Communications. As OpenGov Asia had reported, the workshop provided a platform for all the participating stakeholders to put forward their solutions to expand Internet penetration to remote corners of the country.

The event was chaired by the Minister of State for IT who laid out the government’s objectives to connect all Indians with open, safe, and trusted Internet connectivity. He noted that it is the Prime Minister’s vision through the Digital India initiative to empower all citizens with the Internet and simultaneously expand the digital economy and generate jobs.

The workshop also reviewed BharatNet, the world’s largest fibre-based rural broadband connectivity project. The workshop deliberated upon strategies to immediately cover left-out geographies, regions, and villages. BharatNet is a mission of national importance, aiming to establish a highly scalable network infrastructure that provides on-demand and affordable broadband connectivity for all households and on-demand capacity for all institutions, in partnership with state governments and the private sector.

COVID-19 Risks Explained Via New Australian Online Tool

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A calculator to help people understand their risk factors for COVID-19 infection and vaccination has been launched by the Immunisation Coalition in collaboration with Australian researchers. The tool’s three co-lead researchers are University of Queensland virologist Dr Kirsty Short, CoRiCal instigator from Flinders University Associate Professor John Litt and GP Dr Andrew Baird.

It was noted that Immunisation Coalition COVID-19 Risk Calculator (CoRiCal) was an online tool to support GPs and community members in their discussions about the benefits and risks of COVID-19 vaccines. It was designed to help people make an informed decision around vaccination based on their current circumstances and also see their risk for getting COVID-19 under different transmission scenarios.

Users can access the tool and input their age, sex, community transmission and vaccination status to find out their personalised risk calculation. For example, users can determine their chances of being infected with COVID-19 versus their chances of dying from the disease. They can also find out their chances of developing an atypical blood clot from the AstraZeneca vaccine and see this data in the context of other relatable risks – like getting struck by lightning or winning OzLotto, Dr Kirsty Short said.

The CoRiCal Covid Risk Calculator is in its pilot stage but will be continuously updated in line with the latest health and scientific advice, including risk assessments on Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, pre-existing medical conditions such as obesity and diabetes, and long COVID.

The CoRiCal project included a team of GPs, medical scientists, public health physicians, epidemiologists and statisticians. Associate Professor John Litt, Immunisation Coalition Scientific Advisory Committee member, said he hoped that CoRiCal would help GPs save time and create an accurate assessment of an individual’s risk of COVID-19 or one of the vaccines.

GPs are spending a lot of time trying to explain the risks of COVID-19 and the various vaccines to their patients, Dr Litt said. An accurate, evidence-based tool that is transparent and unaligned with professional groups should help GPs in their task of facilitating COVID vaccination for their patients.

A Melbourne-based stated that CoRiCal was adaptable for booster doses, new viral strains, new vaccines, younger age groups, international markets and even for other infectious diseases. It was noted that the tool presents risk using simple bar charts so that it’s easy to compare the risks for different outcomes related to COVID-19 and vaccines.

CoRiCal may help Australia to move towards 90%, 95%, or even more of the 16-and-over population being fully vaccinated. The higher the rate of vaccination in the population, the better it will be for individuals, communities, mental health, health services, and the country.

CoRiCal had been developed for GPs and other health professionals, it was important that people could easily access this information online without a consultation. The online tool is a collaboration between the Immunisation Coalition, UQ, Flinders University, La Trobe University, and Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Risk calculations in CoRiCal are based on a modelling framework developed by UQ School of Public Health’s Professor Colleen Lau and Dr Helen Mayfield, and QUT’s Professor Kerrie Mengersen.

Singapore’s First-of-its-kind Health District

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Queenstown, Singapore’s first satellite town, is set to become a health district as part of a pilot programme aimed to assist residents in living healthier and more productive lives. The Housing and Development Board (HDB), the National University Health System (NUHS), and the National University of Singapore (NUS), in collaboration with several stakeholders from the public, private and people sectors, are embarking on a first-of-its-kind collaboration to establish the Health District @ Queenstown pilot.

Tan Kiat How, Minister of State for National Development and Communications and Information, oversees the Queenstown Health District, along with Rahayu Mahzam, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Communications and Information, and Eric Chua, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Ministry of Social and Family Development.

Queenstown was chosen as the Health District’s pilot site because its demographics closely resemble Singapore’s expected national demographics by 2030. Currently, the municipality boasts one of the city-oldest state’s populations, with about one in every four Singaporeans aged 65 and above.

We will leverage the broad range of expertise of our partners to create integrated solutions to enhance the health and well-being of residents across their life stages.

– The Housing & Development Board, the National University Health System and the National University of Singapore

There are opportunities to pilot interventions for bettering citizens’ well-being, promoting health-seeking behaviours, and encouraging social connections in conjunction with other forthcoming development and rejuvenation plans for Queenstown. The trial will focus on facilitating intentional longevity by giving participants chances to volunteer, work, and engage in lifelong learning. It also aims to encourage residents to follow preventive health recommendations by moving services from hospitals to or near their homes.

In addition, NUHS will also launch an updated My Health Map initiative to boost residents’ access to preventative health services by providing health screenings to residents on-site when appropriate and holding community health lectures. They can also get suggestions for health exams and vaccines based on their demographics and health status using the app’s My Health Map function. Patients can also use the app to schedule in-person visits, register for a queue number, and view the number of patients ahead of them in the queue.

“The launch of the teleconsultation feature is extremely opportune considering the Covid-19 scenario,” said Ms Clara Sin, chief operating officer of NUH and NUHS’ group service transformation and medical records offices. The agency aims to ensure that all patients receive consistent care and that they do not have to travel to the hospital, especially the elderly.

In an interview conducted by OpenGov Asia, Associate Professor Thomas Lew, Group Chief Data & Strategy Officer, National Healthcare Group, explained that Singapore is a densely connected city-state where the complexities of an internet-enabled telehealth consultation compete with the standard physical visit to the doctor. According to Associate Professor Lew, telehealth must be contextualised for value, grounded on trust-based relationships, in areas such as real-time biological monitoring, and round-the-clock trusted advice and alerts.

“For the healthy population, the potential of health coaching for individuals and organisations has yet to be fully realised.  To envision telehealth beyond transactional efficiency much remains to be done,” he explains.

Artificial intelligence and automation services and systems also significantly benefit healthcare. Yet, Associate Professor Lew believes, while AI is not in the consciousness of mainstream healthcare workers, it is ubiquitous without their realisation.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB), the National University of Singapore (NUS), and the National University Health System (NUHS) are also working together to develop affordable and usable technology to improve the lives of residents, beginning with solutions co-developed with residents, caregivers, and family/community support networks. Ultimately, the agencies said that they will collaborate with the industry to test and deploy applicable technology that allows individuals to remain self-sufficient, aids in illness prevention, and enhances healthcare delivery.

Singapore Centralised Low-Carbon Initiatives to Support Green Plan 2030

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Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yong, stated that the country is considering several options to decarbonise its power grid, including boosting solar power and importing low-carbon energy from the region. Mr Gan spoke at the inaugural Singapore Green Plan Conversation hosted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Mr Gan also stated that the country intends to use regional electricity systems. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project has also begun, with cross-border power trading of up to 100MW between the four nations participating.

Over the last five years, Singapore’s solar energy capacity has increased by more than sixfold. By 2030, the goal is to increase solar energy deployment by fivefold to at least two gigawatts, which would power roughly 350,000 homes annually.

“We are embarking on a trial with Malaysia to import up to 100MW of electricity. This trial will allow us to build up our knowledge on larger-scale low-carbon imports from the region,” he added. “For us, climate change is an existential challenge.”

Singapore is a small city-state – without natural resources, land, nor climatic conditions for large-scale deployment of renewable energy sources. We, therefore, take sustainable development very seriously.

– Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry

The Singapore Green Plan 2030 was unveiled earlier this year as a plan for the country’s carbon reduction efforts. City in Nature, Sustainable Living, Energy Reset, Green Economy, and Resilient Future are the five pillars of the strategy. Ministers of state for trade and industry Low Yen Ling and Alvin Tan also attended the Singapore Green Plan Conversation, which intended to engage businesses and representatives from trade sectors.

The minister went on to say that the green economy will open up new doors for Singapore. “Singapore has the potential to become a carbon services centre. Companies will demand competence to control their carbon footprint as the world moves toward a low-carbon future. We aim to work with regional stakeholders to help them achieve their decarbonisation goals “he remarked. In addition, companies and employees are also urged to improve their competencies and seize new chances.

OpenGov Asia reported that per a joint press release from two countries, Singapore will join Australia in drafting a Green Economy Agreement (GEA). The cooperation intends to hasten both countries’ transition to a greener, more sustainable future, while also creating jobs and reducing carbon emissions. The agreement will highlight initiatives to encourage and ease trade and investment, with an emphasis on reducing regulatory burdens on businesses. It also aims to eliminate non-tariff obstacles to trade in environmental goods and services and to speed up the adoption of low-emission green technology.

The countries claimed this “world-first agreement” will deepen their bilateral connection through strengthened economic and environmental relations in a joint vision statement released following the conference. The agreement’s larger goal is to serve as a guide for multilateral and regional policy development by establishing policies, standards, and initiatives that will not only create good jobs in green growth sectors but also strengthen environmental governance and global capacity to deal with environmental issues.

Singapore and Australia already have an open, liberalised trade and investment relationship and are both prominent proponents of a global trading system based on open norms. Singapore is also collaborating with Australia on a solar power project that would provide green energy to Singapore via a 4,200-kilometre underwater cable from Darwin, Australia.

Moreover, the Singapore government is following up on the results of two feasibility studies, one on low-carbon hydrogen and the other on carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) technology. As a developing country with limited access to alternative energy, these technologies are likely to play an essential part in the country’s transition to a low-carbon future.

Finally, the CCUS technology will assist the government in meeting its climate action obligations and goals, as outlined in the upgraded 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution and Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategy, as well as the Singapore Green Plan 2030.

Singapore-Australia Developing Green Economy Agreement for a Sustainable Future

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Per a joint press release from the two countries, Singapore will join Australia in drafting a Green Economy Agreement (GEA). The cooperation intends to hasten both countries’ transition to a greener, more sustainable future, while also creating jobs and reducing carbon emissions. The agreement will highlight initiatives to encourage and ease trade and investment, with an emphasis on reducing regulatory burdens on businesses. It also aims to eliminate non-tariff obstacles to trade in environmental goods and services and to speed up the adoption of low-emission green technology.

The countries claimed this “world-first agreement” will deepen their bilateral connection through strengthened economic and environmental relations in a joint vision statement released following the conference. The agreement’s larger goal is to serve as a guide for multilateral and regional policy development by establishing policies, standards, and initiatives that will not only create good jobs in green growth sectors but also strengthen environmental governance and global capacity to deal with environmental issues.

Singapore and Australia already have an open, liberalised trade and investment relationship and are both prominent proponents of a global trading system based on open norms. Singapore is also collaborating with Australia on a solar power project that would provide green energy to Singapore via a 4,200-kilometre underwater cable from Darwin, Australia.

The Sun Cable project, worth A$30 billion (S$29.5 billion), aims to bring green power to Singapore via a 4,200-kilometre cable from Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory. The goal is to begin sending power to Darwin in 2026, with the first shipments to Singapore in 2027, and full commercial operations by the end of 2028. According to the company, supplying up to 15% of Singapore’s electricity demand could lower emissions by six million tonnes per year.

OpenGov Asia reported that Singapore is currently implementing efforts to make industrial production processes and energy usage more environmentally friendly and to improve energy efficiency. The Republic also aspires to become a sustainable tourism destination, as well as a carbon services hub and a centre for green finance, to help Asia’s sustainability efforts. This also entails ensuring that new carbon-intensive investments brought into Singapore are among the best-in-class in terms of carbon and energy efficiency.

The Green Economy, one of five key pillars of the new Green Plan, aims to seek green growth opportunities to create new jobs, transform Singapore’s industries, and harness sustainability as a competitive advantage, the statement said.

With this objective, Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) recently launched an SGD 3 billion multicurrency medium-term note programme as well as a green bond framework to fund the development of sustainable waste management infrastructure. In addition, by 2035, all government vehicles will be powered by cleaner energy, five years ahead of the national objective of 2040. All new government vehicles must have zero emissions by 2023.

Last July, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu declared these and other targets. She explained the numerous ways the government will spearhead low-carbon activities under GreenGov.SG project. Government-owned workplaces and public infrastructure have set a goal of reaching maximum emissions by 2025, after which they will begin to reduce emissions five years ahead of the rest of the country.

Under the Paris Agreement, Singapore aims to peak at 65 million tonnes by 2030, reduce to 33 million tonnes by 2050, and achieve net-zero emissions sometime in the second half of the century.

Vietnam Launches Bug Bounty Programme to Enhance Cybersecurity

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The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has rolled out a Bug Bounty programme to detect security holes and vulnerabilities on national digital platforms. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) described the Bug Bounty programme as a solution to help the government connect with leading domestic and international security experts and save time and costs while ensuring the network security of national platforms.

According to a press release by MIC, Bug Bounty is an annual programme and will be held from October 2021 to October 2022. The total prize money in the first year is VND1 billion (around US$50,000) and is expected to increase annually. Under the programme, MIC will announce a list of the top 50 experts who have made significant contributions to the detection of security holes on the Vietnam Information Security Day, which is held in November every year. The top three cybersecurity experts will receive awards and certificates of merit from the Minister of Information and Communications.

The initiative is an extension of the campaign “Detecting security holes on technology platforms for epidemic prevention and control”, which was launched earlier this month. Aiming to turn Vietnam into a digital country, and a nation of stable development and prosperity by 2030, the National Digital Transformation Programme approved by the government in June 2020 emphasises that cybersecurity is the key and an integral component to successful and sustainable digital transformation. Based on this, the government launched the Bug Bounty programme to detect security holes and better protect national digital transformation platforms.

Globally, vulnerability search platforms are common in the field of information security. “White-hat hackers” or vulnerability experts search for security holes on the platforms of large tech. The Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), an agency under the United States government, has selected Bug Crowd and EnDyna to implement a federal policy to find vulnerabilities on government technology platforms.

Earlier this month, the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT) and the Authority of Information Security, under MIC, presided over the deployment of the 2021 ASEAN Computer Emergency Response Team Drill (ACID 2021) for members of the emergency response network and IT units of ministries and agencies nationwide. Attending the ACID 2021 were teams representing ASEAN member nations and five dialogue countries, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

As OpenGov Asia had reported, the drill was an opportunity for technicians of Vietnamese agencies, organisations, and enterprises to practice their skills in dealing with, investigating, analysing, minimising damage, and reporting emergencies. It aimed to help them gain knowledge and experience in responding to cyber security incidents. The ACID 2021 drill used the latest cybersecurity trends as scenarios for teams to strengthen their preparedness in solving cybersecurity issues. After the drill, experts and domestic team members spent time exchanging and sharing situations and solutions to help participants better understand how to handle the incidents in a specific case.

As per data from the first six months of this year, cyberattacks in Vietnam decreased but the level of sophistication and damage was much greater. Vietnam recorded 2,915 cyber-attacks in the first six months of 2021, an increase of 898 compared with the same period last year. Earlier in May, the MIC Minister issued a directive on strengthening the prevention and combat of violations and crimes on the Internet. The Minister also requested the sector to continue to effectively implement the Prime Minister’s directive on enhancing safety measures on cybersecurity which aims to improve Vietnam’s rankings.

Ramping Microgrids Tech in Regional Australia

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On behalf of the Australian Government, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced the launch of the $50 million Regional Australia Microgrid Pilots Program (RAMPP) to support microgrid pilot projects across regional Australia.

Announced in the 2020-21 Federal Budget, the six-year program aims to improve the resilience and reliability of electricity supply in regional communities and demonstrate solutions to technical, regulatory or commercial barriers to the deployment of microgrid technologies in Australia.

The launch of RAMPP builds on the Government’s $50.4 million Regional and Remote Communities Reliability Fund (RRCRF) which funded feasibility studies for regional and remote communities to investigate deployment of local microgrid technologies.

Microgrids are small scale electricity systems that can coordinate local energy resources such as solar panels, battery storage and other distributed infrastructure to provide secure and reliable electricity within the microgrid as well as optimising renewable energy generation and usage.

The microgrid may also provide services back to a major grid, or operate independently of a major grid. Microgrids might involve solar panels, battery storage and other distributed infrastructure as well as hydrogen, new forms of energy storage or diesel generation.

Coordinating local electricity resources in a microgrid can bolster the resilience and reliability of supply in the event of a natural disaster, making microgrid technologies a particularly appealing option for communities prone to bushfires, floods or cyclones.

For remote communities, microgrids offer a pathway to switch to renewable energy, reduce emissions, costs and fuel security issues and improve reliability and security for remote communities with weak grids or grids that are reliant on diesel generation. They also help to increase renewable energy penetration and value through coordination of resources and provision of services from distributed energy resources.

RAMPP funding will be available to projects that have been proven to be viable through a feasibility study. ARENA is expecting applications demonstrating grid-connected microgrids, standalone power systems (SAPS), and remote isolated microgrids.

The CEO of ARENA stated that RAMPP funding will support the demonstration of a wide range of microgrid technologies. He noted that whether it’s maintaining electricity supply during and after emergencies such as bushfires and floods, or improving the reliability and security of power supply in remote communities, this program will showcase the diverse benefits microgrids offer regional Australia.

With feasibility studies funded in every state, RRCRF is showing us that microgrids provide an exciting opportunity to integrate renewables into regional communities. ARENA is proud to be delivering this next step, funding pilot projects that demonstrate the real-world potential and community benefit of microgrids.

ARENA has previously supported remote microgrid projects to reduce diesel consumption such as SETuP in the Northern Territory, and on Lord Howe Island, Flinders Island, Garden Island and Rottnest Island. Last year, ARENA also provided funding to Horizon Power’s Denham Hydrogen Demonstration Plant, the first remote microgrid system in Australia to integrate hydrogen generation.

The global microgrid market size is expected to reach US$42.3 billion by 2026 from US$24.6 billion in 2021 at a CAGR of 11.4% between 2021 and 2026.

The growth of the microgrid market is driven by factors such as a rising focus on decarbonization by various end-users and government, increasing demand for uninterrupted power supply, growing adoption of microgrids for rural electrification, and rising instances of cyberattacks on energy infrastructures. Initiatives by governments of different countries to encourage the development of microgrids are also fuelling the growth of the industry.

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