PlDT offers to assist Comelec in data management, storage

Telco giant PLDT has offered to assist the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in its data management and storage, as well as in helping make the polls more secure and efficient.

PLDT said the company and its wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. recently discussed with Comelec officials the group’s cybersecurity technology and processes.

The company said its best practices that have allowed it to defend telco assets and customers against threats and disruptive attacks were shared with the agency.

It added that these capabilities could also help make the polls more secure and efficient, ultimately protecting the integrity of the country’s elections.

PLDT also said its corporate business arm, PLDT Enterprise, is willing to collaborate with Comelec on data storage and management while the poll body cements plans for its own facility.

PLDT Enterprise’s suite of services caters to some of the biggest companies locally and abroad.

“PLDT and Smart recognize the critical role that we play in the Filipinos’ right of suffrage. In the past automated elections, we have provided a secure channel for critical information to pass through. We support the Comelec in providing Filipinos with clean and honest elections,” PLDT Group chief information security officer Angel Redoble said.

Comelec has conducted consultations with relevant agencies on cybersecurity as it prepares for the first National Election Summit this year.

PLDT and Smart were the only telcos invited by the poll body to participate in the pre-summit discussions to help the agency craft recommendations to strengthen the country’s elections.

“The Automated Election System has demonstrated its capabilities to run a secure and efficient process. As we move deeper to the digital age, we always strive to boost our capabilities to protect the Filipinos’ vote and to ensure that they continue to trust our elections,” Comelec Commissioner Nelson Celis said.

PLDT said its programs to beef up the digital infrastructure of government agencies are part of a broader effort to elevate the Filipinos’ experience by keeping these critical organizations safe from cyber attacks.