Comelec says no biometrics data leaked in database breach

Yesterday, the Philippines Commission on Elections (Comelec) said that fingerprints, signatures, and photos were not included in the recent hacking of its database, according to a report by CNN Philippines.

Last week, a report by Trend Micro said that a massive breach of the database of the Philippines’ Commission on Elections (COMELEC) had leaked a huge number of voters personal identifiable information, including passport information and fingerprint data.

This week, Comelec and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said they have an idea who the real persons behind it may be, and according to NBI Cybercrimes Division Chief Ronald Aguto, “we’re hoping that in the next few days, we will be able to identify, arrest and do charge the persons responsible.” Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said added that they have increased security and are now using new servers to host their website and database.

According to the CNN report, Comelec has said it may have been a fake database. “First of all, they claim to have investigated or researched the data dumped, no? Which, to my mind, is a little dangerous to claim because wala naman silang kakayanan [they don’t have the capability] to actually validate whatever it is they’re looking at, right?” said Jimenez. “Kasi wala naman silang access sa [because they don’t have access to the] database ng Comelec.”

Comelec also said they’re still in the middle of investigating and comparing the leaked data with their database.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  data protection  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  hacking  |  Philippines  |  privacy  |  voter registration