THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday refuted claims regarding the alleged hacking of its website and social media accounts.
Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia issued the denial following allegations made by a hacker group identifying itself as “Philippine Cyber Mafia” and claiming it had compromised and released various data from the electoral body .
“We verified it, we counterchecked it earlier, negative,” Garcia said.
The poll chief also said that the Comelec verified its social media pages and websites to disprove the alleged hacking.
Garcia said that the poll body has already collaborated with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, which has also refuted the hacking allegations.
On its Facebook page, the hacker group asserted its assessment of the purported data breach from Comelec’s website on Monday.
The cybersecurity advocacy organization Deep Web Konek reported that the leak is said to include information about overseas Filipino voters, details regarding political parties, and other personally identifiable information.
Deep Web Konek said it received notification from the Philippine Cyber Mafia regarding a post made on Monday, in which the group asserted responsibility for the data breach.
The post featured an image purporting to show leaked data files, including names, locations, and various other details. Furthermore, the post referred to a ‘review’ of the purported data leak, suggesting the possibility of additional revelations, according to the statement issued by the group.
Garcia also gave assurance that the transmission of election results would be “hackproof.”