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://www.otalliance.org/resources/principles.html

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About The Online Trust Alliance (OTA) https://otalliance.org/

OTA’s mission is to create a trusted global online ecosystem and foster the elimination of email and Internet fraud, abuse and cybercrime; thereby enhancing trust, confidence, and the protection of businesses and consumers.  OTA is governed by a Board and Steering Committee including Bank of America, BoxSentry, Datran Media, Epsilon, Goodmail Systems, Iconix, Internet Identity, Intersections, Lashback, Cisco Systems, MarkMonitor, Message Systems, Microsoft Corporation, McAfee, Publishers Clearing House, Return Path, Secunia, Symantec Corporation and VeriSign.

Press Inquiries:

Sonya Madeira Stamp, Rice Communications for OTA, Tel: +65 6223 8729, Mob: +65 9450 1090, Email: sonya.madeira@ricecomms.com