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Blockchain-based technology for secure digital signatures wins legal tech hackathon in Singapore

Blockchain-based technology for secure digital signatures wins legal tech hackathon in Singapore

A team using a blockchain-based technology to provide a
cost-effective, reliable and secure system for conducting and recording
transactions online won
a legal technology hackathon
organised by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL).

The hackathon was a held as part of a regional legal tech
forum, the TechLaw.Fest 2018 held from 4-6 April 2018. The competition
challenged participants to come up with out-of-the-box solutions to everyday
problems faced by lawyers, in-house counsels, users of legal services and data
protection officers (DPOs) in Singapore. To emphasise the importance of
personal data protection, teams were also asked to incorporate Data Protection
by Design in their solutions.

The challenge areas are drawn from FLIP’s “ 101
Problem Statements – Challenges & Opportunities for the Legal Sector”
and four other data protection problem statements prepared by the Personal Data
Protection Commission (PDPC). The 101 Problem Statements were collated in
consultation with lawyers, in-house counsel and users of legal services. It is
intended as a guide for technologists, entrepreneurs and the legal tech
industry in developing client-centric solutions in areas such as increased
access to justice, better collaboration and communication between lawyers and
clients, as well as enabling lawyers to increase their productivity. FLIP
worked closely over three months with a team of ten undergraduate students,
mainly law students from the National University of Singapore and Singapore
Management University (SMU), who assisted in collating the report.

The winning team, from Singapore-based legal technology
company LegalFAB Pte Ltd, addressed privacy
and cyber security concerns in using digital signatures on legal documents.

Digital signatures, the equivalent of a handwritten
signature or seal to authenticate the source of a message, are encrypted to
prevent tampering but lawyers are still wary of using them. They cite problems
of data privacy, such as the challenge of ensuring that the client’s
information is not used beyond what it was intended for. They also want the
encryption process to be simpler and integrated with their existing software.

With the winning solution, individuals are able to create an
encrypted record of verified personal data that can be used to enter into
transactions, and confirm details of the transaction using a documented digital
signature.

For example, using this system, an individual can apply to
open a bank account using passport details that have been verified by a law
firm, instead of having to visit the bank with physical copies of their
original documents. The bank, in response, electronically sends back a copy of
the draft bank account details which the individual can then confirm using a
digital signature. This can all be accomplished with almost no risk of forgery
or hacking.

The aim is to create an efficient way for companies to
obtain verifiable data from customers, while at the same time allowing
individuals to digitally sign information in a way that reliably protects and
proves their verifiable data when dealing with companies.

The team’s solution offers a significantly higher degree of
transparency and security, which they hope will encourage more confidence in
and widespread use of digital signatures.

The next step for the LegalFAB team is to develop their
prototype solution into a viable market product. They will do this under SAL’s
Future Law Innovation Programme (FLIP).
FLIP has an acceleration programme to help promising tech-based legal
enterprises start-ups scale up their business.

Paul Neo, SAL’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial
Officer, said, “It is heartening to see FLIP’s 101 Problem Statements starting
to catalyse innovation in the legal industry. We hope to see more solutions and
products like this in the near future. These will go a long way towards
evolving our legal industry into a legal hub for the region.” 

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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