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PRESS RELEASE
70% of Singaporean Top Online Sites fail to protect Consumers
and their Own Brand from Online Fraud
Media Coverage
Updated October
15, 2009
Singapore, October 5, 2009 - The Online
Trust Alliance (OTA) today released the results of the Singaporean
Online Trust Scorecard, which examines how well Singaporean online sites
fare against their international peers in protecting consumer interests and
brand reputation.
In this era of online fraud, phishing, spoofing and
identify theft, OTA is calling on leading commerce site, banks and
government departments in Singapore and across the Asia Pacific region to
take increased responsibility in protecting consumer's online experiences.
OTA's scorecard showed that only 30% of the Top 100
visited websites in Singapore authenticated email whilst only 2% secured
their online transactions with EV SSL. In comparison, Fortune 100 companies
authenticate 55% of email and 9.3% of online transactions with EV SSL.
Mr. Craig Spiezle, Executive Director of OTA, says
“Whilst on a regional basis, Singapore’s results are above average, on a
global basis, there remains a significant opportunity for improvement.”
Authentication is a critical building block which the
internet industry uses to distinguish between real senders of an email and
fraudsters. Authenticated emails from Singaporean companies would help
separate legitimate emails from those which are ‘spoofed’ or are phishing
attacks. It would also improve email deliverability by reducing loss of
legitimate emails (“false positives”), a growing problem for both consumers
and businesses alike.
Commenting on the Scorecard, Mr. Manish Goel, CEO of
BoxSentry and Director of OTA said “As an ICT leader in the region,
Singapore has an opportunity to demonstrate leadership by adopting
international standards quickly.” He added, “While the government and
education sectors were above the national average, FSI and commercial
organisations have significant room to improve results.” OTA has published
the Online
Trust Principles, a set of global guidelines for preserving and
enhancing consumer trust and confidence.
OTA concludes that early adopters who demonstrate
online citizenship will realize brand differentiation and a sustainable
competitive advantage through increased consumer trust.
While intended to thwart abuse and enhance data
security, OTA’s Online Principles also help preserve the benefits consumers
receive from online resources, such as access to free content, email and
related services which are extensively used.
“With the onslaught of deceptive email and online
crime, it is incumbent on all leading organisations to adopt these
Principles to not only help protect their customers but also their digital
brands,” added Mr. Spiezle. “Left unchecked, we risk a consumer trust
meltdown.”
“Creating and protecting consumer trust is at the
heart of direct marketing best practices, it is the key to differentiating
and winning in the marketplace. The Direct Marketing Association of
Singapore requires all members to adhere to the ethical standards in our
Code of Practice. We are in full support of OTA’s Online Trust Principles
and are currently taking the steps necessary to make them part of our Code,”
says Lisa Watson, Chairman of Direct Marketing Association of Singapore.
Mr. Goel added, “The cost to authenticate is very low
compared to the significant benefits which accrue to the internet community
as a whole from doing so. It is the obligation of leading organisations
across the region to do their part in making e-commerce safe for consumers
and efficient for business.”
OTA will publish an updated scorecard in early 2010.
This scorecard will list out the Top 100 Singaporean organisations and their
compliance status with email authentication and EV SSL (for online
transactions) standards. OTA Principles can be viewed at:
https://otalliance.org/resources/principles.html
Media Coverage
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