Micro-enterprises in Exercise and Education Sectors Supported by IMDA's Data Protection Essentials Programme
Ministry of Home AffairsSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the participation of micro-enterprises in the exercise and education sectors within the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) Data Protection Essentials (DPE) and Start Digital (SD) programs. Ms See Jinli Jean inquired about adoption rates and the successful implementation of the DPE one-stop professional service in these specific sectors since April 2022. Minister for Communications and Information Mrs Josephine Teo stated that while 1,320 education and 220 exercise companies adopted SD solutions, only four education and zero exercise enterprises applied for the DPE service. Minister for Communications and Information Mrs Josephine Teo noted that over 40% of the 100-plus DPE applications are micro-SMEs, with 50% of all applicants having successfully completed implementation. IMDA is partnering with sector champions to encourage more SMEs handling significant personal data to adopt DPE to strengthen customer trust as they digitalise services.
Transcript
29 Ms See Jinli Jean asked the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what is the proportion and number of micro-enterprises in (i) the exercise sector and (ii) the education sector that are supported by IMDA's Data Protection Essentials Programme since its inception in April 2022; and (b) in each sector, what is the breakdown by the number of enterprises that have (i) completed the IMDA Start Digital Programme and (ii) successfully implemented the one-stop professional service and received the grant of $1,600.
Mrs Josephine Teo: IMDA's Start Digital (SD) programme provides easy-to-deploy digital solutions to new companies or those that have yet to digitalise. To date, about 1,320 companies in the education sector and 220 in the exercise sector have adopted SD solutions.
IMDA's Data Protection Essentials (DPE) programme is designed to support SMEs in acquiring a basic level of data protection and security to protect their customers' personal data and recover quickly from a data breach. Since its inception in April 2022, there have been over 100 applications for the DPE one-stop professional service (“Service”). The Service helps SMEs to set up data security practices and incident management plans, provides data protection and cyber awareness training to the SME's staff and comes with a one-year retainer service that includes software updates and reviews of the SME's systems and data handling processes.
Most of the applications for the Service come from SMEs in sectors, such as healthcare and IT which handle a large amount of personal data (more than 500 individuals). Over 40% of the applications are from micro-SMEs. Specifically, four applications are from the education sector and none are from the exercise sector. To date, 50% of all applicants have successfully implemented the Service, while the remaining are at different stages of implementation.
Different SMEs have varying data protection needs depending on the volume and type of data they handle. IMDA has been collaborating with various sector champions to promote the DPE, including in the education and exercise sectors. For example, IMDA is partnering the Committee for Private Education to encourage small-to-medium private education institutions to adopt the DPE to protect their customers' personal data. IMDA will also continue to encourage all SMEs that handle a large amount of personal data to adopt the DPE, including SMEs in the exercise sector. The data protection measures will aid SMEs in upholding confidence and trust among their customers as they digitalise their processes and services.