SINGAPORE: A software glitch saw some people receive SMS text messages “erroneously” from the Registry of Marriages (ROM) and the Registry of Muslim Marriages (ROMM) on Sunday (Sep 9).
The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) on Thursday apologised for any inconvenience caused, saying that the incident was not the result of a cyberattack nor was any personal data compromised.
The software error on Sunday occurred following a system upgrade the same day, the ministries said in a joint statement, adding that the issue has since been rectified.
Images of the SMSes seen by Channel NewsAsia showed that recipients had received congratulatory messages on their marriages, with a link to a website to provide feedback. The SMSes did not mention names or personal details.
“The software had wrongly sent text messages to a batch of past recipients during routine dissemination of messages,” the statement said, adding that SMS notifications were sent out the same day to inform affected individuals to disregard the messages.
“Our investigations confirmed that there was no breach of personal data, and this was not the result of a cyberattack. We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the ministries said.
The ministries added that they are reviewing the system and will put in place additional measures to prevent the same error from recurring.
The statement did not indicate how many SMSes were sent out on Sunday. It also did not elaborate on what additional measures would be put in place.
A software glitch saw some people receive erroneous SMS text messages from the Registry of Marriages and the Registry of Muslim Marriages on Sep 9. (Image: Carmen Loh)
Ms Carmen Loh, a 27-year-old project engineer, told Channel NewsAsia that she received the message at 2.55pm on Sunday.
The message said “Congratulations from the Registry of Marriages”, and asked for her to provide her feedback, according to a screenshot provided by Ms Loh.
“I was quite surprised, because my ROM was two years ago,” she said. “I thought it was either a scam message, or they took two whole years to ask for my feedback.
“I didn’t click on the link that was sent, as I took it as a scam message.”
Ms Loh added that her husband did not receive the SMS, and that she received a follow-up message acknowledging the system error on Sunday night.
The message on Sunday was sent out at 11.37pm. It read: “You received a message today from ROM/M. It is a system error. We wish to assure you that there is no breach of personal data. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.”
