askST: Singapore is moving away from masked NRIC numbers. Wh...

SINGAPORE - Singaporeans have been asked to change the way they think about NRIC numbers and how they are used. The current practice of masking NRIC numbers creates a false sense of security that such data is secret, said Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo in a press conference on Dec 19. It also means organisations have started wrongly using NRIC numbers as passwords, or as ways to authenticate a person's identity and grant them access to privileged information. Mrs Teo said government agencies had intended to start moving away from these practices by discontinuing the use of unmasked NRIC numbers. A: The only thing that has changed is the Government deciding not to use masked NRIC numbers, said Mrs Teo. It had planned to discontinue the use of masked NRIC numbers internally, starting with new services. Mrs Teo said the authorities have been consistent on t...