NRIC numbers remain personal data, should not be widely circulated: Josephine Teo

The information should be collected and used only when necessary, says minister

- Osmond Chia

NRIC numbers remain a form of personal data, and should be collected and used only when necessary, said Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo in Parliament on Jan 8.

Organisations that collect NRIC numbers still have a duty of care, and must notify and seek consent on the use of the data and protect it, she said in a ministerial statement to answer more than 50 questions from MPs over the recent wide-scale exposure of NRIC numbers.

"These are existing guidelines that will not change," she added.

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) had caused a storm among the public after launching its new Bizfile portal on Dec 9 that allowed the full NRIC numbers of registered people on its database to be retrievable for free via its search function.

The feature was taken down on Dec 13 in the light of public backlash.

Mrs Teo acknowledged the concerns raised by the public and said: "The recent Bizfile incident is unfortunate. Without intending to, it led the public to believe that the Government is changing its policy to allow full NRIC numbers to be exposed on a wide scale.

"This is not the case."

Mrs Teo added: "We take the public's concerns seriously and are very sorry for the mistake that caused them much anxiety."

Some MPs asked about the rationale behind the plan to stop the practice of masking NRIC numbers and whether the number is still considered confidential.

Others asked about what private organisations should do, and whether the mishandling of NRIC numbers by private firms was still considered a data breach. MPs also asked about measures in place to protect citizens from an increased likelihood of impersonation scams.

INCORRECT USE OF NRIC NUMBER