Ministerial statement: Teo Chee Hean on review into public disclosure of full NRIC numbers on Bizfile People Search
A confluence of several shortcomings on the part of the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and how they had interacted with each other led to the public disclosure of full NRIC numbers on Bizfile People Search in December last year. Firstly, MDDI should have been clearer in its policy communications in its July 2024 Circular Minute (CM) and explained the key terms and phrases more clearly. Secondly, there were internal shortcomings within ACRA in sharing and acting on the information from MDDI on the CM. The FAQs were not properly disseminated within ACRA by the officers who had attended the briefing and those who received them via email. Thirdly, MDDI should have paid more attention to the implementation plan for new use cases of partial NRIC numbers that were more complex, such as public registries. Fourthly, in deciding to disclose full NRIC numbers in People Search, ACRA did not first assess the proper balance between sharing full NRIC numbers and ensuring that they were not too readily accessible. This contravened the government’s internal rules on data management. Fifthly, certain security features for the People Search function were not adequately implemented for the new Bizfile portal. Lastly, the incident management after public concerns on the Bizfile portal surfaced should have been better coordinated and clearer. Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean shared these findings by a review panel in a ministerial statement in parliament on Thursday (Mar 6), saying ACRA and MDDI have accepted them and are addressing the issues identified. He told the House that the lessons from the incident must be learnt and internalised by the public service. “This recent incident, while regrettable, demonstrates the government’s commitment to continuous improvement, to uphold the trust that Singaporeans have placed in the government and the public service,” he said.
A confluence of several shortcomings on the part of the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and how they had interacted with each other led to the public disclosure of full NRIC numbers on Bizfile People Search in December last year. Firstly, MDDI should have been clearer in its policy communications in its July 2024 Circular Minute (CM) and explained the key terms and phrases more clearly. Secondly, there were internal shortcomings within ACRA in sharing and acting on the information from MDDI on the CM. The FAQs were not properly disseminated within ACRA by the officers who had attended the briefing and those who received them via email. Thirdly, MDDI should have paid more attention to the implementation plan for new use cases of partial NRIC numbers that were more complex, such as public registries. Fourthly, in deciding to disclose full NRIC numbers in People Search, ACRA did not first assess the proper balance between sharing full NRIC numbers and ensuring that they were not too readily accessible. This contravened the government’s internal rules on data management. Fifthly, certain security features for the People Search function were not adequately implemented for the new Bizfile portal. Lastly, the incident management after public concerns on the Bizfile portal surfaced should have been better coordinated and clearer. Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean shared these findings by a review panel in a ministerial statement in parliament on Thursday (Mar 6), saying ACRA and MDDI have accepted them and are addressing the issues identified. He told the House that the lessons from the incident must be learnt and internalised by the public service. “This recent incident, while regrettable, demonstrates the government’s commitment to continuous improvement, to uphold the trust that Singaporeans have placed in the government and the public service,” he said.
Popular Shows
