NPC TO COMELEC: PROBE DATA BREACH

THE National Privacy Commission (NPC) asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to address the alleged hacking incident and data breach of its servers.

The NPC on Jan. 8, 2022, received information from the Technology editor and IT head of the Manila Bulletin regarding a suspected breach on Comelec servers wherein an estimated 60 gigabytes of data, which possibly contain personal information and sensitive personal information, were allegedly accessed and downloaded by a group of hackers.

Privacy Commissioner John Henry Naga directed the NPC’s Complaints and Investigation Division to start its own investigation.

“The Comelec must address the serious allegations made in the Manila Bulletin news report and determine whether personal data were indeed compromised, particularly personal information, sensitive personal information, or data affecting the same, which were processed in connection with the upcoming 2022 national and local elections,” Naga said.

The poll body was also directed to conduct a comprehensive investigation and submit to the NPC the results not later than Jan. 21, 2022.

“Rest assured that the NPC does not tolerate any act in violation of the Data Privacy Act including negligence in implementing organizational, physical, and technical security measures on personal data processing systems, whether in government or private institutions,” Naga said.

Inside job?

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said the Comelec should look into all angles — including inside job — in its investigation.

The senator said that all possibilities — no matter how unlikely — must be considered, including an inside job, a “no elections” scenario, or a profit motive on the part of the alleged hackers.

“As much as we don’t want to believe them, they are still in the realm of possibilities, so we should still look into them,” Lacson said.

He added that the Senate and the House of Representatives can exercise their joint oversight powers to look into the incident if needed.

He added that all stakeholders must ensure the integrity of the May 9 elections.

“Elections are the strongest representation of democracy in the Philippines because for one day, the people are clearly the rulers,” the Partido Reporma chairman and standardbearer said.