SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Lim Chong Kin, Drew & Napier LLC
to ensure appropriate levels of protection and security. Electronic Signatures The ETA makes a distinction between electronic signatures, secure electronic signatures and digital signatures. An electronic signature could conceivably take various forms, such as a scanned physical sig - nature or typing one’s name where a signature is required. According to Section 18 of the ETA, an electronic signature will be recognised as a “secure elec - tronic signature” if, through the application of a specified security procedure or a commercially reasonable security procedure agreed to by the parties, it can be verified that, at the time the • created in a manner or using a means under the sole control of the person using it; and • linked to the electronic record to which it relates in a manner such that if the record were changed the electronic signature would be invalidated. The key difference between a secure electronic signature and an electronic signature is that the former raises the following statutory presump - tions pursuant to Section 19 of the ETA: • in any proceedings involving a secure elec - tronic record, it is presumed – unless evi - dence to the contrary is adduced – that the secure electronic record has not been altered since the specific point in time to which the secure status relates; and signature was made, it was: • unique to the person using it; • capable of identifying such person;
• in any proceedings involving a secure elec - tronic signature, it is presumed – unless evidence to the contrary is adduced – that the secure electronic signature is the signature of the person to whom it relates, and that the secure electronic signature was affixed by that person with the intention of signing or approving the electronic record. Furthermore, the ETA defines a digital signature as an electronic signature consisting of a trans - formation of an electronic record using an asym - metric cryptosystem and a hash function such that a person having the initial untransformed electronic record and the signer’s public key can accurately determine whether: • the transformation was created using the private key that corresponds to the signer’s public key; and • the initial electronic record has been altered since the transformation was made. A digital signature can be treated as a secure electronic signature if it was created during the operational period of a valid certificate and is verified by reference to the public key listed in such certificate. The certificate must also meet the prescribed requirements under the ETA and be considered trustworthy. On 5 November 2020, GovTech launched the “Sign with SingPass” service. This was rolled out through GovTech’s subsidiary, Assurity Trusted Solutions, which is an accredited Certification Authority under the ETA. The “Sign with Sing - Pass” service allows SingPass users to elec - tronically sign certain documents with some government agencies and private sector busi - nesses. Signatures made using the “Sign with SingPass” service can be regarded as secure electronic signatures under the ETA. However,
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