Singapore authority Acra disables search function for NRIC n...

SINGAPORE: The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) has temporarily disabled the function allowing people to access the IC numbers of individuals on its new portal. This is after members of the public surfaced concerns that they were able to access NRIC numbers through a search, without paying, via the Bizfile portal launched on Dec 9. The authorities clarified, however, that the NRIC number is a unique identifier assigned by the Singapore Government as a means to identify individuals, and should be used as such. Said a Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) spokesperson in a statement early on Dec 14: "As a unique identifier, the NRIC number is assumed to be known, just as our real names are known. "There should therefore not be any sensitivity in having one's full NRIC number made public, in the same way that we routinely share and reveal our full na...