The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) assures the public of its commitment to transparency and preventive action following the breach of data from the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS).

An investigation into the causes and scale of the incident is being conducted jointly with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) National Computer Emergency Response Team-Philippines (NCERT-PH), the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Cybercrime Division, and the National Privacy Commission (NPC) Compliance and Monitoring Division.

Based on the investigation, the links posted by the bad actors lead to limited data taken from the CBMS Management Information System. The PSA and aforementioned partners are working tirelessly to prevent the further disclosure of data. Leads for the identification of the bad actors have been provided to the PNP and the NBI for further action. The PSA will also work with partners to ensure the perpetrators of this incident are brought to justice.

Upon discovery of the breach, the PSA Data Breach Response Team (DBRT) immediately shut down servers and networks connected with the CBMS to isolate the infiltration. Intensified security protocols were then established to deter any further attacks on all other systems PSA manages. The data in question was not removed from the system and PSA has backup copies.

Investigations have confirmed that data in the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), the Civil Registry System, and more than 100 other censuses and surveys that the agency conducts are unaffected.

Amid the recent string of cyberattacks against government agencies and private institutions, the agency is also continuously working with the DICT and NPC to enact stronger data protection measures to be implemented across all government agencies.

The agency remains fully committed to data integrity and privacy and is one with the national government in enacting stronger security and data protection to prevent these data breaches.

CLAIRE DENNIS S. MAPA, PhD 
Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General