NPC sounds alarm as 10 gov’t agencies report leaks

ملخص مفصل

The National Privacy Commission reminds government agencies that filing breach notifications does not exempt them from liability after potentially exposing sensitive citizen data

This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors.

MANILA, Philippines – The National Privacy Commission (NPC) announced on Tuesday, November 10, that 10 government agencies had submitted breach notifications following reports of potential data leaks.In a statement released on Tuesday, the NPC confirmed receiving personal data breach notifications from the following offices:

NPC spokesperson and Deputy Privacy Commissioner Jose Belarmino II said the notifications comply with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012, and NPC Circular 16-03.

“Each notification received by the NPC is reviewed and assessed by our Compliance and Monitoring Division, which examines the nature and circumstances of the reported incident…. Following its assessment, the Division prepares a report containing its findings and recommendations for submission to the Commission En Banc,” Belarmino explained.

The announcement comes a week after the commission said it was coordinating with government agencies to verify reports of suspected government data leaks.

Under Section 20 of the Data Privacy Act, personal information controllers like government agencies are required to “promptly inform” the NPC and affected individuals if any sensitive personal data has been compromised.

The SEC notified users of its online platforms on Monday, November 9. In an email notice sent to registered users, the commission attributed the leak to “malware infection or unauthorized access by a third-party threat actor” targeting users’ devices.

The SEC warned users that exposed records may have included their full names, usernames, email addresses, mobile numbers, birth dates, genders, addresses, and Taxpayer Identification Numbers. But it maintained that “no data was altered, no internal corporate record was involved, and no passwords” were exposed.

According to a statement, the commission detected the breach on November 6 and reported it to the NPC three days later on November 9.

مطلع المقال، مقتطف من Rappler. لقراءة المقال كاملًا، افتحه على موقع الناشر.