THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) assured the public that the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) and the Civil Registration System (CRS) have not been affected by data breach.
“From the initial assessment, the system allegedly affected is limited to the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS). The PSA is assessing what personal data from the CBMS may have been compromised and will share information with the relevant authorities and the public in due course,” PSA said.
“The agency is taking additional preventive and containment measures to ensure the security and integrity of all systems and databases that it manages, including shutting down and isolating the system known to have been affected,” it added.
The CBMS is an organized technology-based system of collecting, processing and validating necessary disaggregated data that may be used for planning, program implementation and impact monitoring at the local level while empowering communities to participate in the process.
The PSA warned the public that social media posts with alleged sample data include links that contain malware that may be used by cybercriminals for illicit acts, thus, the public is strongly advised not to click such links.
“The PSA is committed to ensuring the integrity of its data and confidentiality of the information collected through its surveys, censuses, PhilSys and CRS. In line with this, the agency, in collaboration with all authorities, continues to maintain and strengthen its technical, organizational and physical security measures,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) yesterday said data stolen though the Medusa ransomware attack on its system on September 22 “can no longer be recovered.”
In a briefing, PhilHealth vice president for corporate affairs Rey Baleña also said the state insurer is just waiting for the completion of the investigations of the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the National Privacy Commission (NPC) before they can properly identify the member data that have been compromised.
Earlier, the DICT said the PhilHealth data breach may be in the “millions” of its membership data based on their ongoing investigation. The hacked data was first posted on the dark web and is estimated to be about 734 gigabytes.
Instead of looking to recover the data, Baleña said, PhilHealth is focusing on ensuring there will be no repeat of the incident. He said PhilHealth has acquired an anti-virus software for its system after completing the procurement process and is set to create a cyber security task force.
“This is an important step moving forward so that we will have a dedicated team for this. We can, thus, fortify our cybersecurity infrastructure,” he said.
He reiterated a call for all PhilHealth members to take proactive actions to protect themselves from hackers.
“Do not entertain suspicious calls, emails, and text messages,” he said.
The National Privacy Commission issued guidance to combat a potential proliferation of counterfeit IDs of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp (PhilHealth) in light of a recent hacking of its system.
The NPC issued PhilHealthLeak Guidance No. 1 to all personal information controllers (PICs) and personal information processors (PIPs) after the Complaints and Investigation Division of the Commission on October 6 concluded its initial analysis of the 650GB compressed data files linked to the Medusa Ransomware Group’s data dump.
The NPC said it was determined that a portion of this data dump contained personal and sensitive personal information of PhilHealth members.
The NPC urged PICs and PIPs, particularly banks and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), hospitals, and public telecommunications entities (PTEs) to exercise heightened vigilance in detecting and preventing the fraudulent use of counterfeit PhilHealth IDs during various transactions.
In particular, NPC warned of the risks unique and distinct to specific categories of PICs.
For banks and NBFIs, PICs/PIPs are urged to watch out for associated risks of identity theft and financial fraud and money laundering.
The guidance said fraudsters may exploit fake PhilHealth IDs to open fraudulent bank or financial accounts or conduct unauthorized financial transactions. This can lead to significant financial losses for both the bank and its customers.
For public and private hospitals, the NPC said associated risks are medical fraud and patient data beach.
The guidance said fake IDs can be used to claim healthcare benefits and services, leading to unwarranted financial burdens on hospitals and potentially compromising patient care.
The use of counterfeit IDs can result in unauthorized access to patient records and sensitive medical information, jeopardizing patient privacy and confidentiality.
For PTEs, the associated risk is identity theft in subscriber identity module (SIM) registration where counterfeit IDs may be used in the registration of SIM cards, enabling malicious actors to engage in criminal activities such as fraud, harassment, and scams while remaining anonymous.
Meanwhile, the Diocese of Cubao said the Facebook pages of Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, his secretary Sr. Meriam Bauzon, and Rev. Fr. Rey Hector Paglinawan have been hacked.
The asked the faithful to be vigilant and to ignore unscrupulous individuals “asking for monetary assistance.”
Last August, the social media account of Kidapawan Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo was also hacked. — With Gerard Naval and Irma Isip
