STOLEN DATA | ‘Heads should roll’ amid cyberattack in PhilHealth, says group

September 26, 2023 , 03:19 PM

By Beatrice Puente

(September 26, 2023) – A cause-oriented group on Tuesday sought accountability over the cyberattack against the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) because of its impact on the public’s personal information.

Infrawatch convenor Terry Ridon pointed out that PhilHealth should have undertaken better measures to secure its database so as not to compromise the integrity of information stored therein.

He said the P100.2 billion budget of the state health insurer for this year should have been used to improve its system.

“PhilHealth has failed to secure its database. Heads should roll. Why is there no adequate system in place to combat this mess?” said Ridon in a statement.

Starting last Friday, the Medusa ransomware has attacked the system of PhilHealth but the agency assured that its members can continue to avail of benefits from hospitals and other facilities. It has undertaken temporary measures to address the cyberattack.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has also stepped in. According to DICT undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy, the hackers are asking for $300,000 or around P17 million in exchange for the decryption keys.

He said the hackers promised to delete the data in their possession and refrain from publishing such information. They also vowed to give the DICT a copy of the data they have. But Dy recognized there’s no assurance that the hackers would stand by their word if the government yields to their request.

“Hopefully, together with our law enforcement agencies, we can apprehend the culprits. We also need to coordinate with our international counterparts since these criminals are operating internationally,” said Dy.

PhilHealth also assured that they won’t give in to the demands of the hackers.

Ridon stressed that the government should seriously deal with the situation because President Bongbong Marcos Jr. himself is pushing for the digitalization of government systems.

Ridon also asked if PhilHealth deployed cybersecurity mechanisms or conducted periodic stress tests to address these types of situations. He noted that other government agencies must not be complacent. Instead, he urged them to be prepared to avoid a similar predicament.

“A whole-of-government digital security review is in order. The government needs to act swiftly to protect the digital footprint of millions of Filipinos who depend on online mechanisms to tap government services,” said Ridon.

In his past speeches, Marcos described the digitalization of the economy as an urgent task because of the wide use of the internet. He added that small- and medium-scale industries must likewise be supported to help connect them with consumers.

“We cannot do all of the things that are necessary to transform our economy without good connectivity, with a high bandwidth, with good speed, and at a very affordable price. This is the aspiration,” said Marcos last March.

Last June, DICT secretary John Ivan Uy said their cybersecurity plan, which includes enacting a law on cybersecurity and protecting critical digital infrastructures, was only awaiting Marcos’ approval.

(PM)

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