For many businesses today, data protection has become as much about trust as it is about compliance. Every transaction, customer interaction and strategic decision now runs on data, and with that comes responsibility.
If your company operates in Singapore, the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) here sets the baseline rules for how personal data must be managed. In this article, we’ll look at what PDPA compliance involves and how a proactive approach to data protection can support your business growth.
The PDPA: Singapore’s personal data protection act explained
The PDPA is Singapore’s main legislation governing how organisations collect, use and disclose personal data. It sets clear rules to ensure personal information is handled responsibly and that individuals’ privacy rights are respected. There are several mandatory steps that companies need to fulfil for PDPA compliance. These include:
- Appointing a data protection officer (DPO): To provide oversight and responsibility for data protection across your organisation
- Requesting consent: Shows respect for individuals’ privacy choices
- Collecting and using data only for appropriate purposes: Ensures data is used responsibly and only for legitimate business needs
- Communicating purposes clearly: Helps customers understand how their data will be used
- Enabling individuals to exercise their data rights: Demonstrates accountability in how you manage personal data
- Ensuring data accuracy: Improves the quality of your business insights and supports more reliable decision-making
- Implementing reasonable security safeguards: Protects against unauthorised access and data loss
- Limiting data retention: Reduces storage costs of personal data
- Complying with transfer standards: Supports international operations with personal data protected across borders
- Notifying the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) and affected individuals of breaches: Helps preserve public confidence
Take note that penalties are imposed on companies for breaching the PDPA in Singapore. In one instance, an information technology solutions provider was fined SG$17,500 in 2025 for failing to adequately safeguard personal data.
Why compliance alone is not enough
That said, it’s important to recognise that the expectations on businesses have changed amidst rising cyber threats. Beyond completing the above steps for PDPA compliance, more needs to be done on a regular basis to truly ensure the protection of your data.
For many businesses, data is a strategic asset
Through data, you’re able to anticipate customer needs, improve your products or services and make more informed decisions. As a result, it has become one of the most valuable assets any business holds. Inevitably, this also increases the risk of being a target of cyberattacks.
According to a report by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), the manufacturing and professional services sectors were the most affected by ransomware attacks in 2024. The same report revealed a 21% increase in ransomware incidents and 49% increase in phishing attempts. The growing value of data therefore calls for a more proactive and structured approach to governance and protection.
The reputational cost far outweighs fines
Breaching the PDPA can also pose a reputational risk. The PDPC publishes offences and penalties on its website, making each breach a matter of public record. The loss of credibility for such incidents can thus be far more costly, more so when a cyberattack is involved.
Consumers today are highly sensitive to privacy issues, particularly in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and technology, where data underpins trust. A single incident can therefore cause uncertainty among clients, partners as well as investors.
There are business benefits to having strong data governance
Whilst complying with the PDPA, prioritising strong data governance can further support your business in maintaining:
- Customer trust: Businesses that can demonstrate transparent, responsible handling of personal data can earn loyalty. In a market where customers can switch providers with ease, trust is a differentiator.
- Investor confidence: Strong data protection practices signal good governance, making the business more attractive to partners and investors.
- Operational efficiency: Knowing where data resides and applying retention policies may reduce duplication and lower storage costs.
- Future readiness: As cross-border data flows and artificial intelligence (AI) adoption accelerate, companies with robust governance structures will be better positioned to adapt to any PDPA amendments.
Building this capability, however, will take time and consistent effort across your company. It requires the right expertise to ensure that data protection becomes part of how you operate every day.
How we can help
As a global service provider, we’ve worked closely with companies across different industries to help them stay compliant and well-governed under Singapore’s regulatory landscape. Through this, we’ve also seen first-hand the different areas that companies need support with.
That understanding shapes how we assist our clients. Alongside our range of corporate services in Singapore, we can also help you with the following data protection solutions:
- Appoint a registered DPO to build and manage your data protection framework
- Conduct a compliance gap analysis to bring your company in line with the PDPA requirements
- Maintain data inventory and vendor management
- Set up breach response and user rights procedures
- Assess ready-to-use templates for data protection policies, consent forms and breach procedures, alongside employee awareness training to reduce risk
- Be supported with ongoing compliance and audit support as your business evolves
For more information on outsourcing these functions to us, please get in touch. We can then discuss further on strengthening your data protection efforts.
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