Trust and Legitimacy

TL-1: Official Government Domain

Group: Trust and Legitimacy

Control Statement

Use .gov.sg domain for web-based digital services. Education Institutions may use .edu.sg. domain.

Control Recommendations

Register .gov.sg and .edu.sg domain names on the Whole of Government Domain Name Server (DNS) portal on the IT Service Management (ITSM) portal.

Rationale

Helps end users easily recognise that they are interacting with an authentic government source, reducing the risk of fraud, phishing, or misinformation.

TL-2: Agency or Initiative Logo

Group: Trust and Legitimacy

Control Statement

Display the agency/initiative logo on the top left of every page of web-based digital services; Hyperlink the logo to the homepage.

Control Recommendations

The logo should render clearly without distortion or pixellation to maintain trust and reinforce brand reputation.

Rationale

Provides reassurance about the legitimacy of the service.

TL-3: Official Government Banner

Group: Trust and Legitimacy

Control Statement

Display the Official Government Banner on every page of web-based .gov.sg digital services.

Control Recommendations

The Official Government banner must be the topmost component of the web service. Use the Singapore Government Design System (SGDS) ‘Official Government Banner’ component.

Not required for SaaS and COTS products that do not allow customisation.

Rationale

Helps end users easily recognize that they are interacting with an authentic government service, reducing the risk of fraud, phishing, or misinformation.

TL-4: Official Government Footer

Group: Trust and Legitimacy

Control Statement

Adopt the Official Global Footer on every page of .gov.sg web-based services.

Control Recommendations

Use the basic footer provided by SGDS. The footer must contain

A) The following footer links in this order

i) Contact / Contact Us

ii) Feedback

iii) FAQ (if any)

iv) Sitemap (if any)

v) Report Vulnerability

vi) Privacy Statement

vii) Terms of Use

B) Copyright Statement in the format

'© [current year in YYYY], Government of Singapore’

Digital services owned by statutory boards may use the agency’s name instead of 'Government of Singapore'. Not required for pages that are part of transactional services.

Rationale

Provides consistency across government digital services and ensures that end users have access to consistently placed important utility links.

TL-5: Mobile App Ownership and Distribution

Group: Trust and Legitimacy

Control Statement

Distribute government mobile applications through official app stores and retain IP rights.

Control Recommendations

Retain full ownership of all intellectual property rights, including copyright. Avoid releasing mobile applications under licenses that permit free distribution. Ensure compliance with platform guidelines for official government endorsement.

Distribute apps only through the following platforms:

1. Apple App Store

2. Google Play Store

3. Huawei AppGallery

Rationale

Minimise the risk of end users downloading unauthorised versions of Government apps. Owning the IP rights provides agencies with a legal basis to request third-party app stores or websites to remove unauthorised versions of Government mobile applications.

TL-6: Application Store Listings

Group: Trust and Legitimacy

Control Statement

Ensure that the agency name is used as the application store developer account name when publishing mobile applications.

Control Recommendations

Use the full agency name

Rationale

Having clear and properly named developer accounts reassures end users of the legitimacy of the mobile app.