THE National Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crime Division chief Ronald Aguto said Tuesday they now have a lead on the group that hacked the Commission on Elections website.
In a press conference at the Comelec office, Aguto told the reporters that it appeared that the hacking was done by a group that resides in the Philippines.
Aguto said the Comelec had asked the NBI to identify the hackers in preparation for the filing of charges against them.
His group has been working on the case since March 28, and would be ready to identify, arrest and charge the group in the next few days, he said.
The hackers would be charged with violation of the Cybercrime Law, particularly its provision on hacking and unauthorized access to computer systems.
On Easter Sunday, the hacker group Anonymous Philippines hacked the official website of the Commission on Elections and allegedly downloaded 340 gigabytes worth of Comelec data and files.
Just before midnight of Sunday, the group defaced the poll body’s website (www.comelec.gov.oh) with the message addressed to the Comelec, demanding that they make sure that the security features of the vote counting machines will be implemented on Election Day.
“What happens when the electoral process is so mired with questions and controversies? Can the government still guarantee that the sovereignty of the people is upheld? We request the implementation of the security features on the PCOS [Precinct Count Optical Scan] machines,” the hacker named Anonymous wrote.
The message was accompanied by a threat to the commission that the group would watch how it conducted the May 9 elections.
“Commission on Elections, we are watching! We are Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us!” the message said.
A data privacy lawyer on Monday said the poll body could be sued for failing to protect personal information.
But Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the poll agency was the victim and could not be sued.
“Comelec itself is looking for legal remedy. We are victims here. We also have interest in legal remedies. If other people here feel we are responsible then they should file a case,” he said.
He also assured the public that there was no data on the website that could compromise the upcoming elections.
But Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon expressed alarm over what he described as a massive voter data breach that exposed millions of sensitive personal information of voters, including passport information and fingerprint data.
He said the leak endangered the integrity of the upcoming elections and could lead to “colossal” automated electoral fraud.
“The Comelec must immediately assess the probable effect of the data breach on the integrity of the upcoming elections. In the past, the poll body has sustained its warning against ‘flying voters,’ yet now, with the personal data of millions of voters compromised, what’s stopping unscrupulous groups from using such data to hack the elections?” said Ridon, who is a member of the House committee on information and communications technology.
“Identity theft is only one cause of alarm. Who knows what other nefarious schemes may be done by those possessing Comelec’s whole database?” Ridon asked.
While the Comelec earlier played down the effects of the data leak, Internet security software company Trend Micro said about 15.8 million record of fingerprints are included in the data breach.
“Based on our investigation, the data dumps include 1.3 million records of overseas Filipino voters, which included passport numbers and expiry dates. What is alarming is that this crucial data is just in plain text and accessible to everyone. Interestingly, we also found a whopping 15.8 million records of fingerprints and a list of people running for office since the 2010 elections,” Trend Micro said in its blog.
The cybersecurity firm also warned that the data dump may also include—albeit in encrypted format—personal data of the 55 million registered voters in the Philippines, possibly making the leak one of the “biggest government-related data breach in history, surpassing the US Office of Personnel Management hack last 2015 that leaked personal information, including fingerprints and social security numbers of 20 million US citizens.”
Experts have already expressed concern that the data breach opens affected voters to various cyber-attacks, including phishing, blackmail, and extortion.
Ridon said that Comelec officials must be held accountable for this massive data leak.
“It is Comelec’s responsibility to protect and secure personal voter information. This case again highlights the poll body’s ineptitude and gross negligence of duty. Surely, in one way or another, this incident will affect the integrity of the upcoming national elections,” Ridon said.