Singapore has a vision of being an international electronic commerce hub, where electronic commerce transactions from the region and around the world are processed. A conducive legal and policy framework that creates an environment of trust, predictability and certainty in Singapore is fundamental for electronic commerce to flourish.
In response, the Electronic Transactions Act (ETA) was enacted on 10 July 1998 to create the legal framework for electronic commerce transactions in Singapore. Amongst other things, it paved the way for the Minister for Information, Communications and The Arts to make Regulations for the licensing and regulation of certification authorities (CAs) in Singapore.
The voluntary licensing programme aims to promote high integrity licensed CAs that can be trusted. A CA wishing to get licensed will have to meet stringent licensing criteria in various aspects, including financial soundness, personnel integrity, strict security controls and procedures. Only CAs that meet the high integrity and security standards set up by the Controller will be licensed.