The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) announced the resumption of its Corporate Website and Member Portal effective 12 noon of September 29. According to PhilHealth the public-facing application systems are already up and running and now accessible to the general public through the internet. The e-Claims system was made available within the day.
The shutting down of its application systems was done immediately upon the advice of the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) to isolate these key services and to ensure that the ransomware infection will not spread to critical computers.
PhilHealth said they have worked round the clock to clean up the affected workstations and restore normalcy the soonest.
Meanwhile, it has yet to verify the alleged leaked members’ data that was reportedly found in the dark web. On the alleged demand for ransom, we reiterate the government’s policy of not paying one to criminals.
PhilHealth has also guaranteed the public that its databases are intact, safe and secure. Members are also assured that their benefit entitlement will not be hampered due to this incident. Interim arrangements while systems are offline have been instituted to ensure that members continually avail of their PhilHealth benefits anytime and anywhere in the country.
PhilHealth continues to work closely with the DICT and National Privacy Commission (NPC) to address the situation. It also coordinated with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Philippine National Police (PNP) toward this end. PhilHealth also welcomes calls for inquiry to get to the bottom of this incident. PhilHealth said it will rightfully impose disciplinary actions to people who have been remiss in the performance of their duties if they are found liable.
PhilHealth asked for the public’s understanding and support during this time and implores certain groups and sectors to refrain from concocting false and misleading information to avoid creating panic and distrust among our members and stakeholders.
According to PhilHealth, the entire state health insurance agency has taken this incident seriously, seizing the opportunity to further strengthen its information security infrastructure to prevent this from happening again.
