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Turn On Your 2FA

Activate your Gmail and Facebook 2FA if you're usng those services

Singapore, 16 January 2012 – Turn on your 2FA this festive season to reduce the risk of 'Lost in Spain/Algeria'-type scams” - this is the message Assurity Trusted Solutions (Assurity) wants to put across to Singaporeans ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays. “The Chinese New Year holidays are a popular period for Singaporeans to vacation overseas. If they do not activate 2FA for their email accounts and social networking sites, they may become vulnerable to attacks by hackers who may exploit their accounts to send out 'Lost in Spain/Algeria'-type emails to their unsuspecting friends and relatives,” said Mr Chai Chin Loon, Chief Operating Officer of Assurity, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). Assurity is also the first operator of the national two-factor authentication system. Currently, Gmail and Facebook offer 2FA in Singapore. Mr Chai says it takes fewer than five minutes to activate 2FA.

You can quickly turn on your 2FA on gmail by referring to: http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/static.py?hl=en&topic=1056284&guide=1056283&page=guide.cs

And similarly you can turn on your 2FA for facebook by referring to :http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150172618258920

Launch Of OneKey

SECURITY AND CONVENIENCE for ONLINE TRANSACTIONS

Singapore, 12 December 2011 – Service providers such as banks and securities trading firms can now offer their end users the security and convenience of using just one two-factor authentication (2FA) device (OneKey). This was announced today by Assurity Trusted Solutions (Assurity), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), at the public launch of OneKey.

Speaking at the event, Mr Chai Chin Loon, Chief Operating Officer of Assurity said, “Today marks a milestone for national e-security as the national two-factor authentication system goes live. With OneKey, end users would be able to make more secure online transactions and access multiple services using just one security device.”

Rising trend of online fraud and identity theft. Amid the rising trend of online fraud and identity theft, banks and securities trading firms have been required to put in place a 2FA platform for customers to make electronic transactions. The 2FA platform is an important second line of defence against unauthorised transactions.

A basic 2FA platform requires a user to receive a one-time password (OTP), either via a physical device, or through a text message to his personal electronic devices (such as handphone), to complete the transaction. These devices are vulnerable to malware that can steal personal information and sniff out unencrypted text messages. A recent spate of man-in-the-middle attacks, SpyEye being a high-profile example, have exposed the vulnerabilities of basic 2FA using OTP only. The introduction of OneKey will help safeguard end users' online transactions with its triple functions of OTP, Challenge Response and Transaction Signing.

Mr Chai said, “Typical 2FA transactions based on just OTP, either through hardware device or SMS, can still be exploited by man-in-the-middle attacks. Transaction Signing will require users to key in their transaction details, which provide an additional layer of security to detect any changes to the details. One can think of Transaction Signing in OneKey as the equivalent of signing an online cheque.”

OneKey is developed by ST Electronics. The device is manufactured by VASCO Data Security International Inc, a US-based leader in strong authentication and e-signature solutions.

Mr Lim Hup Seng, Executive Chairman of Assurity said, “We are in the era of the Internet and e-transactions will be a way of life. We envisage that in time to come, the majority of the people will transact online. The national two-factor authentication system is now live. Service Providers can now protect their end users' online transactions. OneKey offers security with convenience.”

The pioneer Service Providers to rise to the challenge are Phillip Securities Pte Ltd, Kim Eng Securities Pte Ltd and ST Electronics. Phillip Securities and Kim Eng Securities have started integration testing and will pilot OneKey among their end users soon. Employees of ST Electronics and Engineering have started using OneKey.

Accessing multiple online platforms with just OneKey
OneKey also gives users access to multiple online platforms. They may do online banking and online securities trading with just a single device. Users can look forward to the convenience of using just OneKey as more Service Providers come on board.

Ms Rachel Lee, Managing Director of SC Auto Industries says, “I am really excited about this new national initiative to consolidate all 2FA tokens into a single device. I now hold nine tokens for both my personal and corporate banking. It is such a nightmare especially when I am overseas and have to make payment approvals and fund transfers! Now I can have the option of carrying just OneKey.”

E-security awareness programme
From January 2012, Assurity will roll out a year-long public education programme to guide consumers on how to use OneKey. There will be talks and exhibitions to engage the public. These public exhibitions will take the fun-and-games approach. The first public education outreach was held today at lunchtime at Mapletree Business City.

For more information, visit the OneKey website: www.onekey.sg or call the 24-hour Hotline at: 65-65663539 (OKONEKEY).

Raise Cyber Security Awareness Among Your Staff - How's How! - 25 January 2012

As part of our public education outreach, Assurity will organise a series of lunchtime talks at public-and private-sector companies. The hour-long talks will cover topics related to cyber security, including the role of two-factor authentication (2FA) in protecting our online financial transactions. The talks are aimed at empowering executives with the knowledge and skills to protect their online financial transactions amid the rising trend of cyber crimes in Singapore. We also aim to familiarise executives with OneKey, Singapore's first 2FA security device for users of private-and public-sector online services.

We would like to invite public-and private-sector organisations to be our partners cyber crime prevention by hosting the talk on your premises for the benefit of your employees. Please feel free to email leona@assurity.sg to schedule a date or for more information.

We would like to invite public-and private-sector organisations to be our partners in cyber crime prevention.

12 December 2011 @ MapleTree Business City

OneKey, the world's first national two-factor authentication device for users of private and public sector online services, was launched on 12 December 2011 at Mapletree Business City. Service Providers from the financial industry (banks and securities trading firms) and government agencies were present to witness a sweltering performance by Zingo Drums as a prelude to the launch. The lunchtime crowd was also entertained by the rousing music of popular acoustic duo Jack & Rai who creatively interspersed their music with the OneKey keywords of enhanced eSecurity and convenience. Mr Lim Hup Seng, Executive Chairman of Assurity Trusted Solutions, was on hand to present tokens of appreciation to the pioneer Service Providers Phillip Securities Pte Ltd and Kim Eng Securities Pte Ltd, and also to the Guest-of-Honour Mr Ronnie Tay, Chief Executive of IDA. With the launch of OneKey, eligible Singaporeans, Permanent Residents and FIN Pass holders can look forward to the convenience of accessing multiple online platforms with just one 2FA security device.