SGNIC: Registrants can and will be held accountable for the content that is uploaded on their websites.

The Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC) will be launching a pilot scheme to enhance the trustworthiness of .sg domain names. Called VerifiedID@SG, the scheme aims to minimise incidences of identity theft and the use of fake identities to register .sg domain names.

The six-month pilot will begin on 2 May 2013, and will impact all new ".sg" domain name registration (i.e. domain names ending with .sg, such as com.sg, org.sg, net.sg, edu.sg, per.sg, gov.sg and .sg).

VerifiedID@SG requires all new .sg domain names registered from that date to undergo compulsory verification using SingPass (Singapore Personal Access). Under the scheme, .sg domain name registrants can continue with the existing practice of appointing an administrative contact to register .sg domain names through SGNIC's accredited registrars. However, the administrative contact will then have to login to the VerifiedID@SG portal using their SingPass ID to verify the identity and contact information of the domain name registrant.

The administrative contact will have 21 calendar days from the date of registration to do this. Failure to comply with this requirement will lead to the suspension of the domain name.

According to SGNIC, this will help prevent any possible abuse of domain names by registrants who use fake or stolen identities to register the domain names. At the same time, registrants can and will be held accountable for the content that is uploaded on their websites, reducing the occurrence of unlawful use of domain names.

SGNIC noted that, traditionally, domain name registries have trusted the domain name applicant to provide accurate and complete registration details such as identity and contact information. Unfortunately, a small percentage of applicants have abused this trust and engaged in identity theft, or provided fake information. “Although the numbers may be small, such fake registrations can potentially harm the Internet community. They are often precursors to using the domain names in malicious ways such as malware distribution, phishing or scams or any act of misconduct,” said Mr Lim Choon Sai, General Manager of SGNIC.

While one effective way of preventing identity theft and the use of fake identities would be to require the applicant for a domain name to provide paper-based documentary proof before accepting the domain name application, this is a time-consuming and cumbersome process.

As most domain name registrants are organisations, such proof could include the company registration certificate and personal identity documents. However, the additional processes involved will slow down registration and create inconvenience for registrants and registrars, said SGNIC.

A more convenient and highly-accessible way would be to allow verification to take place online for most of the registrations. SingPass provides a viable option for this by allowing the SGNIC registration system to verify the identity of the administrative contact of the domain name. He or she can then verify the identity and contact information of the registrant and be SGNIC’s point of contact in its investigations into any inaccurate or false information about the registrant.

For more information on the VerifiedID@SG pilot, visit http://verifiedid.sgnic.sg/faq.html .