By Alec Go
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) and the Civil Registration System (CRS) “have not been” affected by the alleged data leak in one of the country’s statistics office systems.
PSA’s statement came after information of an alleged data leak in one of PSA’s systems was posted on social media on October 7, which prompted the activation of its Data Breach Response Team and investigation.
PhilSys is the central identification platform for all Filipinos and resident aliens of the Philippines. Those registered here are given a national ID (PhilID).
“From the initial assessment, the system allegedly affected is limited to the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS),” the PSA said, adding that it has yet to determine what personal data from the CBMS may have been compromised.
“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 continued.
It also assured to continue the maintenance and strengthening of its security measures in collaboration with authorities.
The PSA said it has tapped the Compliance and Monitoring Division of the National Privacy Commission, the National Computer Emergency Response Team-Philippines of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, and the Anti-Cybercrime Group of the Philippine National Police following the report.
“The PSA is committed to ensuring the integrity of its data and confidentiality of the information collected through its surveys, censuses, PhilSys, and CRS,” it said.
Meanwhile, the public has been warned against clicking malware-carrying links that are embedded in social media posts of alleged sample data, which “may be used by cybercriminals and bad actors to perpetuate other illicit acts.”
“The PSA strongly condemns this activity, and we will be working with all law enforcement agencies to apprehend the perpetrators,” it said.
