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NPC recommends plantilla data protection officers in all gov't agencies

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Joyce Balancio, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The National Privacy Commission (NPC) on Wednesday recommended to lawmakers the passage of a measure ensuring a regular position in each government agency that will handle data protection and privacy.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/19/23/ph-needs-180000-cybersecurity-professionals-group">PH needs 180,000 cybersecurity professionals: group</a></li></ul>“Mas maganda kung idamay na rin nila na bawat government office may plantilla position for a data protection officer that is focused on privacy. Kasi iyon ang ginagawa sa private [sector]. Sa private mayroon data protection officer na dedicated, we should not be far behind that,” NPC’s Complaints and Investigation Division chief Michael Santos said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.In the meantime, the NPC is regularly conducing trainings on data protection and privacy to equip government agencies and departments against cyber attacks and threats.The commission is also in the process of developing “cyber security standards” for all government offices to follow.Santos admitted that the Philippines, despite having a strict law on data privacy, is one of the countries that are vulnerable to cyber attacks.“Iyong Data Privacy Act sabi nga nila, among worldwide, ito iyong isa sa pinakastrikto. Iyong law natin may criminal penalty, sa iba kasi puro financial penalty lang. Dito lang sa atin iyong may kulong. Isa tayo sa pinaka-strict,” Santos said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/10/11/23/dict-to-appeal-scrapping-of-confidential-funds">DICT to appeal scrapping of confidential funds</a></li></ul>“I would say na tayo ang pinaka-vulnerable pero ang law natin ganoon ang importance na gusto niya i-stress. Na iyong privacy ng country, ay importante iyan. Maaaring hindi pa ganoon ka-aware ang ordinary Filipino about their privacy. Pero ang policy ng state is to protect their fundamental rights,” he added.<div>PHILHEALTH DATA BREACH:</div>Meanwhile, the NPC continues to investigate the incident of hacking of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) by Medusa Ransomware.It is also anticipating to receive complaints following the exposure of some sensitive and personal information of PhilHealth members and employees on the dark web.“Million iyan, we will try to be ready kasi duty naman iyan to the public,” Santos said.“We will be ready to receive complaints kaya isa sa inuna na sinecure namin, ang dinetermne namin ay apektado ba ang members database. Andoon ba lahat. Anong extent anong quality ng na-hack. Kung anong data points ang nahack. Inaalam natin iyon,” he added.NPC earlier noted that the number of PhilHealth members affected by the data breach may have reached “millions”.The commission continues to remind the public to secure their online accounts against possible scamming, identity theft, and other illegal activities.“Kasi ang password lang iyan gateway sa email account mo. Iyong email account natin nakakonekta iyan sa social media account, nakaconnect iyan sa bank account nakaconnect iyan sa e-wallet. So kapag natake over niya iyong email mo, malaki ang possibility na itake over niya iyong social media, e-wallet or online banking so kabit-kabit iyan. At minsan diyan dumadaan ng phising email,” Santos said.

The NPC is in the process of developing 'cyber security standards' for all government offices to follow.

NPC recommends plantilla data protection officers in all gov't agencies

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NPC recommends plantilla data protection officers in all gov't agencies

Joyce Balancio,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 11, 2023 05:54 PM PHT

Read More:

NPC

hacking

cybersecurity

data

privacy

data privacy

data protection

tech

plantilla

cybercrime

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