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The post Building Trusted Digital Experiences Through Customer Service appeared first on Netrust.

At Netrust, my client base focuses on Singapore and the wider APAC region, which means my day-to-day is anything but predictable.

The Morning Sprint (and the Caffeine)

My day usually starts with a quick scan of the regional landscape. Because I handle the APAC market, I might be answering a technical query from a partner in Thailand at 9:00 AM, then pivoting immediately to a high-level strategy session for a Singapore government project an hour later.

It’s not just about “selling.” I spend a lot of time playing detective, digging into a client’s infrastructure to find out why their existing security is failing them. Are they struggling with manual document signing? Is their certificate management a mess? That’s where the “consultant” part of my title actually earns its keep.

Turning Chaos into Compliance

When I’m in these meetings, I’m not just talking about abstract concepts. I’m matching real-world headaches with the specific solutions we have at Netrust. Here are the three heavy hitters that usually dominate my conversations:

• Managed CA Services: This is the heart of what we do. As Singapore’s only IMDA-accredited Certificate Authority, we provide what “root-of-trust” companies crave. I often talk to banks or government agencies that need high-assurance identities. Whether they want us to host it or need an internal PKI built on their premises, we provide the legal certainty that their digital IDs actually mean something.
• Certificate Lifecycle Management (CLM): If you want to see a CISO’s blood pressure rise, mention “expired SSL/TLS certificates.” With public TLS certificate lifespans dropping to 47-day cycles by 2029, manual tracking in spreadsheets is a recipe for disaster. I spend a lot of time demoing our CLM platforms, showing how it automates discovery, renewal, and provisioning so the lights stay on without a human having to intervene.
• nSignHub: This is the “productivity hero.” It’s our cloud-based signing workflow. I love showing this to teams that are still chasing people for physical signatures. nSignHub handles everything from “Sign with Singpass” to Netrust Secure Electronic Signature, which is AATL-trusted and recognised globally by Adobe and Microsoft. It turns a week-long paper trail into a five-minute digital process.

The APAC Hustle

The best part of the job is the variety. One day, I’m navigating the specific regulatory requirements of the Singapore Electronic Transactions Act (ETA), and the next, I’m helping a regional enterprise scale their certificate authority infrastructure across three different time zones.

It’s a busy life, sure. There are days when the RFPs feel endless, and the technical requirements are a mile long. But there’s a specific kind of buzz you get when a complex solution finally clicks into place.

The Verdict

Life at Netrust isn’t about sitting behind a screen all day. It’s about being in the thick of the APAC digital transformation. It’s fast, it’s furious, and it’s incredibly rewarding to be the person who helps turn “We need to be secure” into “We are Netrust-secured.”

If you want to see me in action (or just want to see if I can actually explain PKI without using a 50-deck PowerPoint), let’s talk! Contact us at https://www.netrust.net/contact-us/.

Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest happenings/updates.

The post High Stakes and Digital Trust: My Reality as a Netrust Presales Consultant appeared first on Netrust.

With my prior customer service experience in F&B, I realised the soft skills that I have honed were a valuable asset that I could bring into my work.

It requires a unique blend of technical understanding, emotional intelligence and an unwavering commitment to problem-solving under pressure. Definitely not stepping into unfamiliar territory, but the customer’s request this time will be about digital certificates, not tea time cakes.

As a Customer Service Officer at Netrust, we serve as the bridge between the technical teams and customers, ensuring that timely support and solutions are received. We would need to liaise with the customer to ensure that the order details and certificates are issued on time, preventing any disruptions. On the other hand, we often coordinate with the back-end team when new projects are announced.

The IT industry never sleeps, and neither do its problems. System outages, software bugs, and account issues can arise without warning. It is not unusual to handle dozens of cases at once, all demanding immediate attention.

In a dynamic and fast-paced industry, it’s the norm for new features, updates, and integrations to roll out frequently. The customer support team need to stay up-to-date on all of them to avoid giving incorrect information.

This means continuous learning (often on the fly) on new software releases.

It was a daunting task; I only had the IT Knowledge learned in school to weather me through this journey. However, with information being right at our fingertips, I was able to do my research on the terminology that my peers were using.

Let’s face it, by the time a user contacts support, they’re already frustrated. Whether it’s a login failure or a petty inquiry, emotions can run high. It takes skill to remain calm, listen empathetically, and not take things personally, even when conversations get tense.

As time went on, I was tasked to tackle increasingly complex assignments, which resulted in gaining valuable hands-on experience. Eventually, I was able to conduct troubleshooting sessions for my users.

At times, I felt like I did not belong in this world of IT, all my peers seemed more qualified and technical. However, with my team guiding me, I was able to grasp and strengthen my foundation in my IT skills.

Carrying out daily tasks slowly became a breeze. I definitely had my plate full of difficulties when it came to the nitty-gritty of the technical issues, but with the constant exposure to problem-solving opportunities, I became more confident day by day.

I often find myself thinking, ‘Where will I be in the next five years?’ Maybe a professional pastry chef at some fancy hotel? But no, I found my place in the IT industry, as odd as it may sound, I took that leap and proved that a career change is totally achievable.

Entering the IT industry as a Customer Service Officer without previous experience is entirely possible. Your soft skills, attitude, and willingness to learn are your greatest assets. As you gain experience, you’ll find yourself more comfortable navigating the technical aspects and advancing in the industry.

I learnt that being patient, trusting the process and remembering that every challenge is an opportunity for growth. Today, I can look back and be proud of the hard work and courage it took to pursue a new career in IT.

Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest happenings/updates.

The post From High-Touch to High-Tech: My Leap from Hospitality to IT appeared first on Netrust.

We’re on the brink of the Digital Era and soon approaching the post-Digital Era. Many things are slowly being replaced by technology. When ordering food, we will order it through food delivery applications. We book transportation through ride-hailing transport services instead of hailing a taxi from the street. Clearly, technology is an essential tool that we cannot avoid, it plays an important part in the majority of our lives because of the convenience and security it provides. Somehow, when it comes to signing there is a lack of this practice and the use of technology to perform Digital Signing.

Sharing with local tertiary students

A conversation I had with a student from the local tertiary school during my sharing on Digital Signing & Identity.

Student: “I have a question for you. You shared on digital signing but I am just a student and not in the working world yet. When is the right time & where should I start with digital signing?”

Mark: “You have to start right now. From submission of your Final Year Project Reports to something as simple as a Student Acknowledgement Form. All can be digitally signed. The reasons are it is more secure and it ties a unique digital identity to the work you accomplished”.

What is Digital Signing?

A digital signature is a unique feature embedded in a document in digital form like a fingerprint. A trusted Certificate Authority will be tasked to issue a digital certificate to the individual. The individual will then associate the digital certificate to the document to obtain a digitally signed document.

One key feature of digital signature is that it is used to secure digital documents. Preventing malicious personnel to tamper with digital documents received online. When a digital signature is applied to a specific document, the digital certificate is combined with the data being signed to form a unique fingerprint. These two components of the digital signature are unique, and this makes them more practical than wet signatures/electronic signature because their origin can be authenticated. This cryptographic operation helps in performing the following functions:

– Proving the authenticity of the document and its source
– Ensure that the document has not been tampered with
– Verifying the personal identity

If you would like to know more about the digital signature on digital documents, you could also refer to a post by my colleague Malgene: https://www.netrust.net/2022/05/25/securing-pdfs-with-digital-signatures/.

nSign Suite of Digital Signing Solutions: nSignSG

nSignSG is one of the signing solutions from nSign Suite. It is a live signing platform which is available free for the members of the public to perform digital signing with Sign with Singpass.

4 simple steps to Start Signing using Singpass Mobile App on nSignSG.

• Acknowledge
• Upload the Document
• Sign using SingPass Mobile App
• Complete & Download File.

Related Post: https://www.netrust.net/2021/09/29/enabling-sign-with-singpass-with-nsign/

Head over to nSignSG to try out the Sign with Singpass service with your documents and your Singpass Mobile App.

If there are any further enquires or unique signing requirements e.g. Sign with Singpass integration and/or the nSign Suite of Signing solution, do contact us here.

Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest happenings/updates.

The post Digital Signing – Where Do I Start? appeared first on Netrust.

Having worked closely with PKI for about 10 years, the question that is commonly thrown to me is, “Hey, which industry are you from?” typically, when I mention PKI, most people will not have heard of this term before.

Although PKI may be a stranger to many of us, it is present in our everyday life and protects us when we travel, buy stuff online, log in to an eService, in medical, buy a house, etc.

As an engineer whose expertise is PKI, I would like to introduce my friend (who is also your friend), Public Key Infrastructure, to you and where you can find him. Hopefully, you can recognize him when you see him again. Recognizing him empowers you to know who and what can be trusted.

From a layman’s point of understanding for PKI, it is a technology that allows an authority to issue a secure identity. This secure identity can be verified accurately using mathematical calculations. Furthermore, it will enable an individual to protect critical information such as a contract, an email, title deed, etc., from altering and impersonation.

To further explain, I will not demonstrate the mathematics behind it but rather I will illustrate using various real-life scenarios.

Travelling

As a Singaporean, I carry a Singapore passport which is an electronic passport. It is embedded with a smartcard chip that contains my identity which is protected using PKI. Whenever I cross a border, the officer at the border can accurately validate the information in my ePassport to determine within seconds, allowing the officer the power to make an accurate decision whether I am allowed entry to the country.

As a passport holder, I felt reassured knowing that if someone were to forge my passport to steal my identity was almost impossible.

Without PKI, validating a passport will depend on human skills, which are subjected to prone human error and might not be as accurate and also time-consuming.

ePassport also made automation possible, where I can present my passport to an unmanned kiosk to access another country, which I believe many of you have seen and benefitted.

For more information: https://www.netrust.net/certificate-authority-epassport-border-control/.

Sealing digital information

Recently I have invested in a start-up. In the process, some documents require signing. However, amid Covid, face to face meeting was not possible. The documents were sent digitally, and I can apply a “handwritten” signature to the digital document. This worries me as I am applying my “handwritten” signature to a document that could be easily altered or questioned on its authenticity of the document.

However, those digital documents are sent via a platform where it will apply a PKI seal (digital signature) on the document after I have applied my “handwritten” signature. With the PKI seal, no one will be able to alter the document after I have signed it, which gives me assurance and comfort that the document will be secure and trusted. I even have the option to apply a digital signature on the document in my name to protect it from any possible alteration or impersonation of my identity.

I could imagine if there is no PKI seal applied, I would have to resign to fate if the document is ever altered and questioned, making me lose all my investment. In a worst-case scenario, I might even end up in lawsuits.

If you would like to know more about the digital signature on digital documents, you could also refer to a post by my colleague Malgene: https://www.netrust.net/blog/securing-pdfs-with-digital-signatures/.

Navigating the digital world

I am sure this is the most common usage of PKI, but many might not know it. When you visit a bank website, a shopping site, or any website, you want to be sure you are seeing the correct website.

With PKI, all well-known browsers are equipped with the ability to inform the user through indicators if the website that we are visiting is legit. This is through a technology that leverages PKI termed SSL or TLS.

SSL/TLS not only help users to differentiate legit website from fake ones, but it is also used to protect information such as passwords or credit card details sent between the user and the website. This prevents an adversary from listening in on your password in the open Internet world.

There is also an international standard that governs and mandates the use of SSL/TLS on the Internet, which shows the importance of PKI.

Besides securing the digital world, PKI has also helped improve the speed of authenticating identity in the physical world.

Related post: https://www.netrust.net/ssl-certificates/.

Summary

PKI has been present in many aspects of our physical life or digital world. It has protected our identity, transactions and documents that are transacted. I hope this blog, helps you in recognizing the use of PKI around you, so that you know if you are protected before using any eServices.

To find out more, contact Netrust Sales Team at sales@netrust.net.

Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest happenings/updates.

The post The PKIs in Our Daily Life appeared first on Netrust.

Have you ever wondered if your daily work might be project work? The definition of a project is “a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result”. So, if you are handling project work without you knowing, I would like to share with you a basic tool called “WBS” which might allow you to better manage your work.

What is WBS & How it Helps?

WBS stands for Work Breakdown Structure. In project management, WBS is one of the tools to manage project work more effective by breaking project work into smaller tasks to make the work more manageable and approachable. Yet a lot of the time WBS is often undertaken without appropriate team involvement or buy-in.

Sometimes in a project, scope creep might occur. So, it is important that WBS is being done properly and obtain the team buy-in within the early project phase. The reason for having the team buy-in on the WBS is because it covers all the necessary work that needs to be done to complete the project. Failing to do so might cause project reworks, schedule delays and additional resources needed.

WBS need to be created at the beginning of the project. All project team members should be involved in the creation to decrease the risk levels of the project and increase the rate of success. The WBS focuses on the project deliverables. It is the “WHAT” of the project. If a task is not in the WBS, it’s not in the project. The WBS also works as a communications tool with the stakeholders and will be the key input into major components of your project plan.

Example of WBS

Now, let’s look at some of the WBS examples. Typically, the project name goes at the top of a WBS. The next level is the development life cycle. The subsequence levels break the project into deliverables, which are then broken down into smaller component deliverables, and ultimately creating work packages.

This is an example of WBS in the format of an organisation chart.

And this is another WBS example created in Microsoft Excel.

Summary

Now that we have a better understanding and the benefits of creating a Work Breakdown Structure for your project works. Let’s make it a practice on creating one whenever you are assigned any project work.

Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest happenings/updates.

The post What is WBS and How it Helps in Our Work? appeared first on Netrust.

My Journey as a Professional Services Consultant in Netrust

Every graduate’s biggest dilemma is finding the right job. How do we actually define the “right” job? The highest paying job? A job in a well-known company? The one that offers the best working hours? The job that allows me to pick up the most relevant skills? Like every typical graduate, these were the thoughts that were running through my mind as I was about to graduate and embark onto the next chapter of my life, joining the workforce.

A Career in IT and Cyber Security Sector

Graduating from the University of Wollongong with a Computer Science degree, specialising in Digital System Security, I decided to pursue a career in the IT and Cyber Security Sector landing a job in Netrust Pte Ltd as a Professional Services Consultant. As many will know that IT Security consists of many sub categorisations like Infrastructure Security, Crypto & Identity Security and Application Security etc, Netrust has a fair share of dealing with each of these domains.

Me as a Professional Services Consultant

Being a Professional Services Consultant in Netrust, I was able to experience the full spectrum of the SDLC (Software development Life Cycle). I had the opportunity to be exposed in all stages, from the initial stages of Planning to the final stages of Deployment, which I would not have been able to do so in a very specialised role.

Understanding Netrust In-House Products

Upon starting my journey in Netrust, like all my predecessors, I had to understand all our in-house products, ranging from all variants of nSign to SAM (Singpass Authentication Module). No better way to familiarize myself with all the functionalities of the products by actually doing many deployments and maintenance tasks as well as some development on the side. Thus in the first few months, I had a lot of on-job trainings by going for deployments and maintaining the product and system within the Maintenance phase in the SDLC. Through these experiences, I was able to expose myself to various Operating Systems and improved my understanding of how networking works in different environments. Of course, most deployments did not go smoothly proving Murphy’s Law right that “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”, which unfortunately yet fortuitously helped built up my troubleshooting skills.

Tasks pertaining to the Integration and Testing phases were mainly assigned to me during my 7^th to 18^th month of work in Netrust where I did more development and enhancement works for SAM and nSignSG. I got to immerse myself in many different programming languages such as Typescript, HTML, CSS, Java and frameworks like Angular and Spring Boot through front and back end application programming (Not to mention some Swift and Objective C for our IOS mobile application). I was also exposed to different protocols such as OAuth2, SAML and OIDC when our in-house products interact with Singpass.

In my second year in Netrust, I was given more responsibilities in a Presales role. This allowed me to actively be part of the Planning to Design phases; for example, I would drive meetings with clients, trying to understand their use cases and requirements and suggest solutions that help to bridge the gap between their needs and our solutions. Taking all these information back to evaluate and streamline the requirements, we then architect the solution, which brings us to the Design and Analysis phases. Through these, I was able to extend my knowledge in the different types of system architecture, services and product features from cloud providers as well as system networking and security. Who would even expect a graduate in his 2^nd year of work, to be given the rare opportunity to draft workflows and design solutions and architectures alongside the Solution Architect. Not to forget the core domain knowledge regarding cryptography like encryption, decryption, digital signatures and PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) that I definitely had to equip myself with and apply along the way.

Apart from these technical knowledge gained, I have also improved my interpersonal and communication skills through opportunities like Presales which most of my peers would not be able to do this early in their careers. It is also worth noting that the opportunity to interact and pitch solutions to upper management in both private and public sectors are experiences that really amplifies my exposure as compared to my peers. Such functional skills and experiences will definitely put me one step ahead and aid me when I eventually climb up to a managerial role.

Of course, many may debate that being specialised is better than being a jack of all trades. However personally, for uncertain young adults like myself who is unsure about what he wants but yet wants to dip his foot in every single pool before diving in for a swim, Netrust fits the shoe perfectly. The Professional Services team was also able to offer me a nurturing and friendly environment with the ever patient superiors and helpful teammates. Being a Professional Services Consultant in Netrust has offered me plenty of opportunities and exposure to help me streamline and equip me with a strong foundation and skills for the career path that I want to pursue.

Choosing Netrust as the first step for my career has definitely been the right choice.

Join us at  https://www.netrust.net/careers/

The post My Journey as a Professional Services Consultant in Netrust appeared first on Netrust.

Netrust Customer Support During The Pandemic

Being a Certification Authority of Singapore, we were part of essential services that needed to be operational during the pandemic. Netrust customer support team was available for customers who needed the digital services more than ever.
Given the situation, the customers were apprehensive about the need for travel and exposure to the virus. However, Netrust processes involved the requirement of face-to-face verification.

How did Netrust Customer Support adapt to the situation?

Netrust process for the verification and authentication of users includes visiting our office for the face verification for digital services.

In lieu of the situation, Netrust has provided customers more options available for the processes of the digital services to be conducted online which were previously handled over the counter. This new additional option in process was a welcoming change as customers were all constrained to be at home.

The whole onboarding process can be completed online and made within our CPS requirements. Authentications were done via video and the particulars were verified via MyInfo through SingPass.

We are made available on more platforms to serve customer better:

• Emails
• Phone calls
• Live Chat
• Online purchase for new applications
• Remote process (troubleshooting)

By default, Netrust saw an average of 20 walk-in customers but these numbers had to be managed. An appointment system was set up to cater to the number of allowed patrons in the vicinity. This allowed us to allocate a specific timing for the customers who visited Netrust and keep up with the MOH guidelines.

Cashless payment options were made available to customers online, as customers were inclined to come down to Netrust to make subscription payment renewals.

What were the Covid-19 protocol safety measures taken?

We followed the government’s protocol by executing a plan which included:

• Temperature Taking
• Safe entry Check-in and Check-out
• Employee ART testing
• Masks worn at all times
• No gathering internally
• Daily disinfection and cleaning of premises

These tests were done daily before operation commencement to ensure safety measures were kept in place.

How did we ensure safety at Netrust?

The visitors have to do their mandatory Safe Entry check in’s and sanitize their hands. Along with that, temperature taking has to be done before moving forward to the counter area. This will be monitored by the customer support personnel who will be later attending to the customer.

Only one customer at a time can be seated at the counter to be served. Maintaining a 1-meter distance at all times. The customer support personnel will ensure customers have worn their masks throughout the process. Hand sanitizers are also provided at individual counters; this is to carry out the role of hand hygiene for the prevention of pathogenic transmission.

Once the customer leaves, we proceed to disinfect the counter before serving the next customer.

Netrust ensures that in times of crisis we will continually provide best practices to serve customers.

At Netrust, You Can Be Sure!

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The post Netrust Customer Support During The Pandemic appeared first on Netrust.