Singaporeans will be reassured to know that the entire public service will have to conform to a common framework to safeguard citizens' personal data. The aim is a bold one: It is to make databases unusable in case information has been extracted wrongfully from them. The measures, some of which are already in place, will also detect unusual data transmissions and limit users' access rights. Sensitive files will now have to be encrypted, and highly sensitive information about individuals, such as their HIV status, will be kept in a separate system with tighter controls.

The 13 technical measures announced this week are the first of many more to come from the Public Sector Data Security Review Committee. They will replace practices being followed by public agencies, many of which devised the protocols themselves. This standardisation should help to ensure that these agencies adhere to the highest national standards, being devised by the committee, so that citizens do not have to fear that the management of their personal data will be left to the varied capabilities of different organisations.