Irene Tham

Senior Tech Correspondent at The Straits Times

I can be reached at [email protected]

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Articles

How will Trump tariffs affect the prices of your Netflix, Spotify subscriptions?

1 week ago | straitstimes.com | Irene Tham

SINGAPORE - On May 4, US President Donald Trump threatened to slap import taxes on movies made outside the US to boost jobs in Hollywood. The service tax comes on the heels of a slew of other new import taxes on physical goods – including steel, aluminium, smartphones and computers – announced earlier in 2025. China retaliated with its own tariffs targeted at US imports.
‘I am not a robot’ tests were irritating. Now they are dangerous

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Irene Tham

You land on a website that promises movies, music and news articles, or click on a link to join a Telegram channel that promotes cryptocurrency investments. A Captcha prompt pops up, asking you to prove you’re not a robot. You probably wouldn’t think twice about doing so. But in this case, it is not the usual puzzle asking you to decipher scrambled characters, or select squares with buses, trains or traffic lights. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Creative Technology cuts workforce, continues wave of tech layoffs

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Irene Tham

SINGAPORE – Homegrown electronics firm Creative Technology has retrenched about 40 staff, or 14 per cent of its workforce, as the tech layoff wave continues its rampage, The Straits Times has learnt. Confirming the layoffs, a company spokesman said: “Creative Technology has undertaken a decision to restructure parts of its business to adapt to the evolving market conditions.
NRIC saga: Review finds 6 major shortcomings by Acra, MDDI; no evidence of deliberate wrongdoing

2 months ago | straitstimes.com | Irene Tham

SINGAPORE – A review panel that investigated the disclosure of individuals’ full NRIC numbers on a government business portal has found no evidence of malicious intent or wilful wrongdoing. But the panel, led by Head of Civil Service Leo Yip, uncovered shortcomings, by both the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) and the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI), in the incident.
From bits and bytes to oxygen and tissues: Tech veteran rides health and wellness wave

Jan 29, 2025 | straitstimes.com | Irene Tham

SINGAPORE - What started out five years ago as an attempt to help his then 82-year-old mother cope with cancer treatment has since become a lifelong passion for Mr Vignesa Moorthy, the CEO of Singapore-based internet service provider ViewQwest.
What is the price of paying with your palm?

Nov 7, 2024 | straitstimes.com | Irene Tham

Palm reading is coming to the fore as tech firms get creative with using biometrics. ST ILLUSTRATION: CEL GULAPA, ADOBE STOCK Published Nov 08, 2024, 05:00 AM SINGAPORE - Scan your face to unlock your phone or clear immigration checks. Scan your finger to unlock the door. Now, palm reading is also coming to the fore as tech firms get creative with using biometrics.
Smart nation also needs to be safe nation

Oct 7, 2024 | straitstimes.com | Irene Tham

Since tech platforms have failed to root out unacceptable behaviours from cyberspace, the authorities are stepping in to protect citizens who get targeted. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE Updated Oct 08, 2024, 05:00 AM Published Oct 08, 2024, 05:00 AM A new law is in the works to help individuals traumatised by cyber bullying or those whose intimate images or videos are being shared online.
Singapore refreshes Smart Nation goals with plans to tackle digital harms, accelerate AI know-how

Oct 1, 2024 | asianews.network | Irene Tham

October 2, 2024 SINGAPORE – Plans are afoot to equip scientists and students with artificial intelligence (AI) know-how and offer swift remedies to victims traumatised by cyber bullying and deepfakes circulating online, as Singapore charts its next Smart Nation milestones.
Global tech outage begs the question: Why no backup plan?

Jul 20, 2024 | straitstimes.com | Irene Tham

The carnage came after CrowdStrike pushed out a defective software update to all its customers. PHOTO: AFP Updated Jul 21, 2024, 05:00 AM Published Jul 21, 2024, 05:00 AM SINGAPORE - A software glitch that unleashed global chaos on July 19, grounding many essential services and causing massive confusion at airports and hospitals, raises the question: Why were there no backup plans?
ST Explainer: What will happen to my data when Apple AI comes to the iPhone?

Jun 17, 2024 | straitstimes.com | Irene Tham

At Apple’s 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this year, they announced its own AI, called ‘Apple Intelligence’. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG Updated Jun 18, 2024, 03:17 PM Published Jun 18, 2024, 03:15 PM SINGAPORE - Starting later in 2024, Apple will be adding artificial intelligence (AI) to its iPhones, iPads and Macs. This includes a souped-up version of its Siri virtual assistant and allowing Siri to forward questions and prompts to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.