OneKey Newsletter Issue 12 / 2013
Dear Service Providers,
Here are this month’s highlights:
• Protecting the Soft Underbelly of IT Security (22 Nov 2013)
30 participants attended the seminar jointly organised by Assurity and Oracle. The speakers presented on the
neglected vulnerabilities of IT security and empowered participants with the tools to implement a successful IT
security strategy. Jason Kong, Assurity’s Business Director, spoke about the dangers of relying on passwords
alone to authenticate access to sensitive information.
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Email [email protected] for more information about future events
• Price revision of basic 2FA services from 12 Dec 2013
The two years of free basic 2FA services will end on 11 Dec 2013. Assurity will revise the pricing for new
Service Providers that sign up for NAF 2FA services after 11 Dec 2013. The new service agreement will
include a minimum monthly subscription fee.
Current Service Providers will not be affected and will continue to enjoy the early adoption discounted pricing
as per their contracted agreements.
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Call Patrick at +65 9170 1918 / Jason at +65 9851 0020 or email [email protected] /
[email protected] to sign up as a OneKey Service Provider before 11 Dec 2013 to be entitled to the
early adoption discounted pricing.
• Activate your OneKey within 30 days
End users who activate their OneKey within 30 days from the registration date will stand a chance to win
an iPad mini. The monthly lucky draw aims to encourage end users to activate their OneKey before the
activation period expires.
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Visit us at www.onekey.sg for more information about the lucky draw.
• Assurity in the news
“Poor password safety habits”, Digital Life, The Straits Times, 27 November 2013
Digital Life published a feature article on Singaporeans’ “Poor password safety habits” as part of Assurity’s
sponsored series.
The article opened with Assurity’s 2012 survey results which showed that “three in five Singapore residents
who access e-government services never change their passwords. And half also use the same one for
everything from online banking to shopping.” The same results were seen among those who used online
banking and stock trading services.
Assurity’s Chief Operating Officer Chai Chin Loon was quoted as saying, “Based on anecdotal evidence, poor
cyber hygiene practices are still prevalent today.” He advised changing one’s passwords every three months
as they are the first line of defence against cyber attacks.
Chin Loon also advised activating 2FA for one’s online accounts including one’s personal email and social
networking accounts. He was quoted as saying, “Adopting 2FA can help mitigate the risks of poor cyber
hygiene practices and protect the user against identity theft and online fraud.”
Currently, Gmail and Facebook have introduced 2FA. Yahoo and Twitter have introduced 2FA in the United
States, but not Singapore.
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Email [email protected] to explore how your company can participate in our sponsored series.
---“Duplicate sites on the rise, experts warn”, The Straits Times, 3 December 2013
The Straits Times published a story on the rising trend of duplicate sites in Singapore, following the typosquatting scams involving MOM.
Internet security experts interviewed in conjunction with the story commented on the ease of typo-squatting
and how widespread it has become “as it is now easier to copy the look and content of an entire site. Users
who unwittingly enter sensitive information – such as their SingPass – may also put themselves in danger of
identity theft and online fraud.”
Mr Chai Chin Loon, Chief Operating Officer of Assurity Trusted Solutions was quoted as saying, “Your
SingPass gives you access to many e-government services. If compromised, this could lead to reputation
damage and financial loss.”
Telltale signs of typo-squatting include “spelling and grammatical mistakes, pop-up advertisements and dead
links”.