SINGAPORE: Continuing to use masked National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) numbers would give Singaporeans a “false sense of security”, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo on Wednesday (Jan 8).
She was responding to a question from Member of Parliament Liang Eng Hwa (PAP-Bukit Panjang), who asked about the downsides to continuing to mask NRIC numbers, which he considered a “middle-ground approach”.
In her response to Mr Liang, Mrs Teo said masking NRIC numbers would be similar to using partial NRIC numbers, acknowledging that individuals and organisations would be comforted “psychologically” if full NRIC numbers are not known.
Algorithms that can guess or work out full NRIC numbers are now available online, especially if you know the birth year of the individual, she added.
“The ease of availability of such algorithms will mean that the continued use of masked NRIC numbers gives this false sense of security that will not go away,” said the minister.
If this false sense of security persists and people think that their full NRIC number is still a secret, continuing to use it as a password or an authenticator, the risk of scams or identity theft will rise, she added.
“We thought that the right thing to do was, whilst the problem is still relatively contained, we must try and bring a stop to this kind of practices,” said Mrs Teo.
Mrs Teo, alongside Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah, had earlier delivered ministerial statements in response to a slew of parliamentary questions filed by MPs on the recent saga.
The issue started in early December when ACRA’s new Bizfile portal showed names and full NRIC numbers for free through its search function.
After a public outcry over privacy concerns, the government said on Dec 14 it had intended to change its practice of masking NRIC numbers only after explaining to citizens, but the new portal was launched before it could do so.
Days later, during a press conference, the government apologised for the “lapse of coordination”.
WHEN WILL FULL NRIC NUMBERS STILL BE REQUIRED?
In parliament on Wednesday, Mr Xie Yao Quan (PAP-Jurong) asked for specific examples where the government will still require the use of full NRIC numbers and where other forms of identifier will be used.
With the planned move to unmask NRIC numbers, Mrs Teo noted that in some instances, “there will be no need for the NRIC number at all” and the use of names and other identifiers will be sufficient.
But there remain instances where full NRIC numbers will still be necessary, such as when applying for government subsidies.
“For example, if you are applying for subsidies, if you are hoping to access benefits that the government is able to provide to you, if you are laying claim to something important and something valuable to you, these would be instances where the full NRICs should be used,” the minister told the House.
Mrs Teo added that there are many such use cases and it “would not be possible at this point in time to list all of them”.
“There must be hundreds, if not thousands, of cases where internally or in … correspondence with citizens, there may be a reason to use some form of identification,” she said.
The government’s position is for each case to be carefully accessed. The process of deciding this has started but has not been completed, the minister added.
Ms Tin Pei Ling (PAP-MacPherson) asked about the government’s timeline for getting organisations to rectify their use of NRIC numbers for authentication.
The process of getting organisations to stop using NRIC numbers as authentication factors or default passwords will take time, given the amount of public education and outreach efforts that will be necessary, Mrs Teo replied.
But support is available, such as through the Personal Data Protection Commission and other government programmes that can put the organisations in touch with relevant experts and service providers, the minister added.
